Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Football team ends season with win
Bronco sophomore quarterback Cameron Boness stiff arms Riverside senior linebacker Kenny Coulter as Ram senior linebacker Colton Meijer (No. 25) closes in from behind.
Bronco senior wide receiver Zach Klein catches a half-back pass from senior Brody Boness and out-raced Riveside's Javontae Chambers 74 yards for a touchdown with 20 seconds left in the second quarter to take a 12-8 lead.
Freshman Shane Kubik moves in for the tackle of sophomore wide receiver Javontae Chambers.
CHATTAROY - Last Friday, Coach Brendan Bermea promised his team a win to end the season.
He delivered on that promise Saturday, Nov. 9, coaching the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague boys to a 39-29 victory over the Riverside Rams.
The Broncos (4-6) racked up 594 yards of offense, while holding the Class 1A rams to 256 yards. The Broncos had 29 first downs in the win; Riverside managed only 9.
The Rams got on the scoreboard first, when sophomore Javontae Chambers broke outside on a sweep and raced 23 yards for a touchdown.
Junior quarterback Ethan Wiltfong then competed a senior tight end Colton Meijer to add a 2-point conversion. And with 3:47 left in the first quarter, the Rams led the Broncos, 8-0.
But the Broncos came back with a pounding ground game, with senior Brody Boness running straight ahead and leading his team down the field.
Then from the 5-yard line, he put Ritzville on the board with his first TD of the game. The conversion failed and the Rams held a 2-point lead at the end of the first quarter.
The straight-ahead run game would continue for the Broncos in the second quarter, and the rest of the game.
But it would take nearly the entire second quarter before anyone scored again.
With the Rams focusing on Boness and the run game, Bermea pulled a half-back pass out of the playbook.
And with 20 seconds left in the game, Boness took the ball, rolled right and fired a pass to senior teammate senior Zach Klein, who then raced 74 yards for the Broncos second score.
At the half, the Broncos led 12-8.
Both teams would put up two touchdowns in the third quarter, with the Rams scoring on a 75-yard sweep and a 1-yard dive. The Rams converted 2 points on their second TD.
Meanwhile, Boness would add 58-yard and 14-yard TD runs. The Broncos kicked the PAT after their first third-quarter score.
Going into the final stanza, the Broncs held a 25-22 lead.
Boness broke the game open for Lind-Ritzville early in the fourth quarter with a 2-yard dive for a TD. The PAT failed, but the Broncos looked to hold a comfortable 31-22 lead.
However, the ensuing 60-yard kickoff return put the Rams back in the game, with both the TD and a PAT narrowing the score to 31-29.
Boness sealed the win for his team with one more TD, a 2-yard dive. The 2-point conversion was good, and the Broncos won, 39-29, to close the 2024 fall season.
Cameron Boness led the passing attack for the Broncos, completing 8 of 12 for 83 yards and one interception. Brother Brody Boness threw just one pass - the half-back pass for a TD and 74 yards.
On the ground,
Brody Boness' straight-ahead running style carried the day, with 53 rushes for 428 yards and 5 touchdowns. Averaging 7.8 yards per carry, his longest was 58 yards.
Klein carried twice for 8 yards and Cameron Boness once for minus-2 yards.
Riverside's Witfong completed 3-of-8 passes for 64 yards and one TD. Sean Trochta also completed 1 pass for the Rams for 3 yards. And backup quarterback Anton Skaastrup went 0-6 in passing attempts.
On the ground, the Rams Trochta carried 11 times for 142 years and Chambers 5 times for 31 yards. Other rushers for Riverside included Landon Edwards with 1 carry for 1 yard, Wiltfong 4 carries for 45 yards, Lane Wood with 1 carry for 1 yard and Mason Dell 1 carry for 1 yard.
Klein was the top receiver for the Broncos, reeling in 5 catches for 132 yards and 1 touchdown, including the 74-yard half-back pass reception.
Senior Carson Kubik nabbed 2 passes for 15 yards and Brody Boness 1 for 5. Junior Beau Fode also had 2 catches for 1 yard.
During the game, the Broncos converted 7 of 12 third downs, 58%, while the Rams converted only 2-of-8.
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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