The Broncos played their last regular game of the season at Bronco Stadium Friday night, and it was a contest that was much closer than the score revealed.
Clarendon lost to the Sky Rockets 7-28, but not before giving Wellington a huge test. Despite the loss, the Broncos have earned a spot in the playoffs and will play in the Bi-District game against Nazareth Friday, November 13 in Amarillo at Highland Park High School at 7:30 pm as the home team.
The Broncos were threatening to strike first deep in scoring range but threw an interception that Wellington ran back 99 yards for the first score of the game. Both teams remained scoreless in the second quarter, and the Rockets held the advantage going into the break.
The second score came early in the third quarter for Wellington, but the Broncos answered right back when Mike Crump and Johnny Gaines hooked up for six that went 44 yards. Coby Braughton added the bonus kick.
That would be the only score for the Broncos, but they racked up 184 total yards in the game. Rushing yards accounted for 140 of those yards, which equaled what the Rockets did with 145 yards rushing.
“We outplayed them,” head coach Gary Jack said. “We played right with them and caught them off guard. I was very pleased with their effort and performance.”
Minus a couple of mistakes and a few breaks to go the Broncos’ way, it would have been a different game.
“We told the guys we needed to take the fight to them,” Jack said. “We were ready to go. We just needed a couple key breaks to get the extra momentum going.”
Wellington was able to capitalize on a couple of mistakes made by the Broncos and gain the advantage on the scoreboard. Despite the loss, the guys played solid on both sides of the ball. Stephino McCampbell had a good game defensively and so did Brayden Phillips who grabbed a crucial interception for the Broncos and also stepped in for injured quarterback Johnny Gaines.
Gaines injury is healing and he did see some playing time and Jack feels he’ll be 100 percent for next week’s game with Naz.
“Johnny adds a lot to our game and having him in the game helps to give us that extra momentum,” Jack said.
Also playing tough defense according to Jack was Bradley Watson, Chris Crump, Mike Crump, Tre Brown, Lee Tolbert, and Forrest Yelverton. The Crump boys had 17 tackles between them, and Chris also got a sack on the QB. Brown had six tackles and a sack and Lee Tolbert had a solid game according to Jack. Freshman Forrest Yelverton played the entire game both ways and made six tackles.
The Broncos will be preparing all week for their Bi-District game with Nazareth and Jack knows they will be ready to go.
“We’re ready for them,” Jack said. “It’s a new season for us, and this (the playoffs) is all that matters. It will be a battle for us, because they are big. We scrimmaged them earlier in the year, and it was pretty even. They will play hard, and we are going to gear up and get ready to go.”
Make plans to support the Broncos at Highland Park, Friday, November 13, at 7:30 p.m. for the Broncos’ first playoff game with the Swifts.
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