Broncos playoff bid falls short

By Sandy Anderberg

The Broncos knew they had to give it their all and hope that was enough to have a chance at post-season play as they wrapped up their 2014 football season. They played Memphis as tough as they could but suffered a season-ending loss at 12-17. According to head coach Gary Jack, the Broncos gave it their all and played hard.

“All the breaks in the game went against us,” Jack said. “We made mistakes. It was like we were trying too hard.”

The Broncos dropped several passes that they do not normally drop and that killed a lot of the Broncos’ drives. “The dropped passes hurt us,” Jack said. “And we couldn’t get anything going. Our offense moved the ball but made a couple of mistakes. Our youth showed just a little.”

Defensively, the Broncos played a solid game, according to Jack.

“Nick Shadle had a great game and had 18 tackles,” Jack said.

Clay Koetting had 13 tackles, Keandre Cortez had nine tackles, Charles Mason had eight tackles and recovered a fumble, Bryce Hatley also recovered a fumble and had six tackles, Caleb Cobb had a sack and eight tackles, Taylon Knorpp had nine tackles and a sack, and Montana Hysinger had eight tackles.

“I am proud of the guys,” Jack said. “It was a tough non-district schedule and we started the season out at 0-5. That took a lot out of us. But I want to give them credit. They never quit and they kept fighting. We will move on and work harder next year.”