Top-ranked Liberty Christian upsets the Broncos at home

The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos had their work cut out for them on Friday night, when they hosted Liberty Christian in a league battle. The Crusaders maintained a consistent lead from the beginning of the game and went home with a 42-14 win over the Broncos.

Head Coach Greg Whitmore said Liberty displayed why they are one of the top ranked teams not only in the league, but also the state, by playing aggressively on both sides of the ball. Whitmore said the Crusaders proved to be better in every position on the field than the Broncos during the Sept. 30 game.

Liberty showed the dominance early when they scored on the first possession of the game off of a 55-yard pass play. Whitmore said a mental mistake and the Broncos inexperience led to the early points for Liberty, and it is a battle the Broncos have been fighting all season.

Whitmore said the team will continue to make mistakes because of their youth, but the Broncos are focused on improvement in each game. The Broncos were inundated with penalties on Friday night, but Whitmore said it happens when one team is superior and the other has to compensate.

The Broncos were held by the strong Liberty defense throughout the game, resulting in multiple punts for the team. The Broncos recorded only 10 first downs in the entire game.

Liberty continued to gain the advantage against the Broncos during the first half, running in one more touchdown in the first quarter before completing four touchdowns in the second quarter.

Trailing 42-0 at halftime, Whitmore said the Broncos turned their focus to winning the second half, knowing they would be unable to come back from the point deficit.

The Broncos achieved their goal in the fourth quarter after a scoreless third quarter for both teams. With 8:41 remaining in the game, Chandler Widman carried the ball into the end zone on a two-yard run. Pius Prosinecki hit the point after kick, putting the Broncos on the board.

With just over two minutes remaining in the game, freshman Spencer Gering ran 40 yards for the Broncos second and final touchdown of the game. Prosinecki’s point after kick was good, and the Broncos ended the night with 14 points.

Gering led the Broncos in rushing yards with 70, followed by Widman with 47.

The Broncos relied on their passing game to try to gain yardage on Friday, and quarterback Bryce Esser ended the night completing six of 12 attempts for 60 total yards.

Ray Melville received four kickoff returns for the Broncos, and racked up 70 yards on the returns.

The Broncos played Friday without starter Mason Brausen, who will be unable to play for the remainder of the season due to an injury. Whitmore said the Broncos have been unable to have the same line up twice during the season, due primarily to injuries.

The team started five freshmen who Whitmore said performed as well as they could given the circumstances. The experience will assist the young players to develop as athletes and begin to eliminate mental mistakes as they become more confident in their roles for the Broncos, Whitmore said.

Whitmore added the team is staying positive and focusing on the four upcoming games. Whitmore added he just wants the team to come out of every game healthy and reduce the amount of injuries that have plagued the team this season.

The lack of depth for the Broncos has proved to be a difficult obstacle, Whitmore said, but after a long, dominating record as one of the league’s powerhouses, he said it is time for other teams to step up to the challenge.

The Broncos move on to face Davenport on the road on Oct. 7 and Whitmore said they will continue to make adjustments to the line up. Whitmore said Davenport is facing similar challenges, as they have multiple athletes out with injuries.

The key will be to execute the game plan and be more physical than Davenport, Whitmore said. Davenport likes to run the ball and send lead blockers, and the Broncos will be forced to improve on reading plays to reduce the amount of blow back.

Whitmore said he still has high expectations for the Broncos going into the last games of the season. The Broncos coaching staff is confident the next four games are winnable, and they will be looking for the team to make improvements for an opportunity to continue into the Crossover game.

The Broncos return home on Oct. 14 for the Homecoming game against Mary Walker at 7 p.m.