Broncos to play for Area title Friday

They have made the playoffs three years in a row and now the Broncos have added one more trophy to the case with a huge Bi-District win over Nazareth at Highland Park on last Friday night.

The 25-18 win gave the Broncos the right to play in the Area game this Friday, November 20, against Stratford, which is the defending state champ. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at Harvester Field in Pampa.

The Broncos began the game with determination. Three touchdowns early in the half gave them the clear domination over the Swfits that they were looking for.

Chris Crump opened the scoring on a seven-yard run, and Brayden Phillips caught a 48-yard pass from Johnny Gaines to add another six. Gaines threw another strike to Stephino McCampbell that went 16 yards to increase the Bronco lead to 19 as Coby Braughton added the bonus kick.

But Nazareth was not out of the game as they hit a 43-yard field goal before the break. The Swifts would add two more touchdowns in the third quarter after the Broncos’ Chris Crump added their last score from seven yards out.

Lots of drama ensued at the end of the game as Nazareth threatened to score with only seconds remaining on the clock. One last desperate attempt ended when Brayden Phillips snagged an interception, and the Broncos were victorious.

“I was proud that we hung on at the end,” head coach Gary Jack said. “I told them not to let up because Nazareth wouldn’t give up. We made a few mistakes, and we played pretty solid for two and a half quarters. Then we just relaxed a little. It was a definite momentum change.”

Jack credited Phillips, Chris Crump, and Johnny Gaines with having good games against Nazareth.

“Stephino McCampbell had 14 tackles, one sack, and one touchdown,” Jack said. “Wes Williams ran the ball well, and Tré Brown and our line did a good job for us,”
Jack knows the Broncos will have to play mistake free this week.

“If we play hard and get after it, we will be right there in the game,” Jack said. “They [the Elks] have been a solid program for about a decade and have played in four state championship games in recent years. We are looking forward to the game.”

Jack went on to say that the Broncos will have to execute their game plan to stay ahead of the Elks.

“We’ll finally be fairly healthy,” Jack said. “We are excited about the opportunity. If you’re going to be one of the best, you’ve got to beat the best. We’re going to gear up and play hard.”