Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Lind-Ritzville ranked No. 3 in state 2B
Bronco Bridger Moore dives on a loose football in the end zone for a Lind-Ritzville/Sprague touchdown.
Bronco freshman running back Cole Rouleau tries to break a tackle as he sweeps left.
Lind-Ritzville/Sprague senior quarterback Travis Redburn runs through a hole in behind the blocking of junior Carson Kubik.
RITZVILLE – The Broncos showed why they're ranked No. 3 in the state in Class 2B football Friday night, Sept. 9, routing Northeast 2B rival Liberty (Spangle), 60-14.
"Not good enough," Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Coach Brendan Bermea said after his Broncos' victory. "We made too many mistakes to say this was a good effort ... we overcame that, but we had way too many."
"Big difference from last year," Lancer Coach Brian Harrington said of the loss.
Last year, Liberty upset the Broncos, 27-26, handing the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague team its only regular season loss.
That loss created a three-way tie going into the playoffs. As a result, the Broncos drew the No. 2-team in the state, Okanogan, in the first-round of the post-season, and was eliminated, 55-7.
The Okanogan Bulldogs (2-0) are ranked No. 2 this week.
"They gave us a helluva game last year, and that will always stick with me," Bermea said.
Last Friday night, however, the Broncos were not about to be upset.
Early in the first quarter with the Lancers driving, Bronco senior Travis Redburn picked off a pass at the 35-yard line and returned it to the 46. On the first play from scrimmage, junior running back Brody Boness took the handoff, broke off tackle and cruised 54 yards into the end zone with 10:44 left in the quarter.
That TD set the tone for the rest of the game, as Boness and senior Brock Kinch would combine for 429 yards on the ground.
Boness scored on a 13-yard and a 48-yard sweep before the Lancers would get on the board.
Boness scored on a 19-yard dive play with 6:53 left in the first half and senior Bridger Moore would score when he recovered a Bronco fumble in the end zone with 2:09 left in the first half.
At the break, the Broncos led 35-7
After halftime, Kinch scored on a 5-yard TD reception and Boness on an 18-yard run.
In the third quarter, backup quarterback Joey Duff hit Zach Klein for a 25-yard TD.
Backup running back Cole Rouleau, freshman, rounded out Bronco scoring with a 2-yard touchdown dive.
During the game, Kinch carried the ball 12 times for 133 yards and a touchdown. Boness carried 14 times for 296.
They were joined in the ground game by Redburn, who rushed six times for 22 yards, and Duff, who carried the ball once for 7 yards.
In addition to his TD, Rouleau carried another 6 times for 28 more yards.
Total, the Broncos racked up 488 yards on the ground.
In the air, Redburn completed 2-of-7 passes for minus-10 yards and one interception.
Taking over late in the game, Duff completed one pass for 25 yards and a TD.
Cameron Boness also stepped in at quarterback for several plays, completing 1-of-4 passes for 22 yards.
The Broncos (2-0) produced 533 yards of total offense.
On the other side of the ball, junior Maddex Strobel pulled double duty as the team's offensive and defensive leader – at quarterback and linebacker.
At quarterback, he carried the ball 10 times for 35 yards and completed 16-of-37 passes for 150 yards and 1 touchdown. Strobel had 6 interceptions in the game.
The Bronco's Moore was one of those who picked off a pass for Lind-Ritzville/Sprague.
The Lancers' ground game also included 1 carry for 17 yards by senior Zayne Braun and 1 rush without any gain or loss by junior Coleman Tee.
Tee was Strobel's prime receiver, catching 7 passes for 63 yards.
Braun caught 3 passes for 40 yards and a touchdown and junior Jake Soriano caught 3 for 34 yards.
Freshman Drew Piersol also caught 3 passes for 16 yards.
The Lancers (0-2) had a total of 205 yards of offense, with 153 in the air and 52 on the ground.
Their first score came on a 44-yard interception, with Zayne Braun taking the ball to the end zone with 9:50 left in the second quarter. The Lancers' only other score was a Strobel pass to Braun with 6:27 left in the game..
"We're really young this year," Harrington said of his Lancers. "I started five freshmen on defense; they played really well for freshmen weighing 120 pounds."
Harrington said he expects the Broncos to go far this season.
"They are a really good team," he said. "They are definitely going to be one of the toughest teams in the league."
One of the best or not, Bermea said his Broncos have a lot of improvement ahead of them if they want to advance to the postseason.
"We made too many mistakes to say this was a good effort," he said. "We really need to refocus and get more out of ourselves.
"There are some really good teams out there."
One of those teams may be the Tri-Cities Prep Jaguars (1-1).
The Jaguars opened with a 42-0 win over Umatilla, Ore., but fell last week, 16-6 to Asotin (2-0).
The Broncos travel to Pasco this Friday to face the Jaguars at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, the Lancers head to Colfax to take on the Bulldogs (0-2).
"We need our linebackers to step up," Harrington said looking forward to a more equal matchup between his young Lancers and the equally young Bulldogs. "We need our defensive linemen to hold some ground."
Harrington credited his team for having a "lot of heart."
Bermea agreed.
"They're a little down, but they have some great guys over there, some great coaches and great athletes," he said, wishing them good luck the rest of their season.
Harrington reciprocated.
"They'll go far," he said. "I wish them the best of luck."
Roger Harnack is owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. An award-winning journalist, photographer, editor and publisher who grew up in Eastern Washington, he's one of only two Washington state journalists ever to receive the international Golden Quill for editorial/commentary writing. Roger is committed to preserving local media, and along with it, a local voice for Eastern Washington.
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