Broncos defeat ‘Rockets, 21-20

The Broncos brought their a-game against a good Skyrocket team in Wellington last Friday night, and it paid off big with the Broncos winning 21-20.

After trailing by 13 points very early in the third quarter, the Broncos turned up the heat and scored twice while holding Wellington out of the end zone.

The last win over Wellington came in 2010.

Defense was the name of the game in the first quarter as neither team was able to cross the goal line. The Bronco defense held the Rockets in the red zone, not allowing them to score. The Broncos struggled to get anything going; and after giving the ball back, the Rockets began to make a little headway down the field beginning at the 50-yard line, then moving to the 17 before time ran out.

With less than two minutes off the clock in the second quarter, Wellington ran it in from three yards out for six and the two-point conversion. After a Bronco fumble, Wellington was able to get another score on a quarterback keeper. But the Broncos stopped the extra point.

“Our guys played great on both sides of the ball,” head coach Clint Conkin said. “I am very proud of our kids.”

The Broncos racked up 173 total yards with 25 of those coming from senior quarterback Brock Hatley. He went three of eight and hit three different targets.

Koyt Tucek had one catch for three yards, Jmaury Davis had one catch for 10 yards, and Jordan Evans caught a pass for 12 yards. A strong offensive line did their job for the Bronco backfield that allowed them to gain 148 yards rushing. Davis again led the way with 15 carries for 70 yards and two of the Broncos’ touchdowns.

Overall, the Bronco defense was rock solid making several crucial stops in the game. Hatley led the way with 13 tackles and a fumble recovery, and Lyric Smith had nine tackles and a caused fumble. Rhett Caison posted eight tackles, and Tucek had six tackles and one fumble recovery.

“Our defense played great,” Conkin said. “We had several guys making plays and tackles.”

In the fourth quarter and trailing by a touchdown, junior Jordan Herndon grabbed a Wellington punt on their own 10-yard line and went the distance to score six to take the lead in the game with Davis adding the extra point with 6:16 left on the clock.

After the Bronco score, Wellington began to move down the field, but penalties and lost yardage hindered their attempt to find the endzone. With only 38 seconds left in the game, the

Broncos took over on downs and let the clock run out to get the huge win.