Sandy Anderberg

The last time the words Broncos and District Champions were associated was almost thirty years ago in 1981.  This year’s team proved to everyone it could happen again.

The 2010 regular season has ended, and Bronco fever is everywhere as the school and community are anticipating a stellar play-off run that will begin sometime the week before Thanksgiving.

It has been a season for the record books as the Bronco team demolished team after team to go 9-1 on the year.  The Broncos’ only loss came in their season opener to New Deal, and the spread was a mere two points. The Panhandle Panthers were the most recent team to bow to the Broncos, which resulted in a huge 48-7 win.

The Broncos ran through the Panthers as they have done all season long and gained a massive 560 total yards.  Quarterback Johnny Gaines went nine for ten through the air for 172 yards, and they racked up 388 yards rushing on 48 carries.  Chris Crump opened the Bronco scoring frenzy with only eight minutes left in the opening quarter when he took it in from a yard out, and Gaines found the end zone from 45 yards out right before that quarter ended.

Wes Williams put six points up with a huge 88-yard score, and Mike Crump caught a 42-yard pass from Gaines to give the Broncos a 28-0 halftime lead.

“This was a big win for us,” head coach Gary Jack said. “Clarendon has not won an outright District title since 1981.  It is a big deal for us.”

Mike Crump and Gaines both had big scores in the third quarter to put the game away, and Williams added another in the final period. 

“Our offense rolled tonight,” Jack said.  “We did what we needed to do and we dominated.”
Defensively, the Broncos brought their A-game as they turned Panhandle away at every opportunity.  Jack noted that several Broncos had big games.

“Charleston Harris, Chris Crump, Wes Williams, Bradley Watson, Johnny Gaines, and Mike Crump had great games with several tackles and sacks,” Jack said.  “Also, our new player, Austen McNelly did a great job for us defensively.”

Jack is very proud of his players and knows this group is special.

“We played a complete game,” Jack said.  “And it was fun.  I am so proud of the kids and our coaching staff. This is a good group of guys, and the District Championship has been a long time coming.  I think the community is enjoying it, too.”
Because of their District championship and the number one seed, the Broncos will have a bye in the first round of the playoffs.  They will take on the winner of the New Deal and Seymour game that will be played Saturday night.

Clarendon’s ‘boys of fall’ are getting the job done in the District 2-1A race.

The 48-0 shutout of the Lockney Longhorns in Bronco Stadium Friday night set the scene for a goal not achieved in three decades. 

The win put the Broncos on top of their district race and in great contention to bring home a District championship outright next Friday night against Panhandle.  The 500 plus total yards racked up by the Broncos was impressive and overpowered the 67 yards that the Longhorns recorded.

All of the Bronco points were achieved in the first half of play with 34 points scored in the opening period.

“We came out and blew them away in the first quarter,” head coach Gary Jack said.

“Our defense played great.  We held them to three and out and turned around and scored touchdowns.” 

Quarterback Johnny Gaines and Bradley Watson teamed up for the first two Bronco scores early in the game that went 59 and 72 yards.  Mike Crump ran it in from 38 yards out for another touchdown, and brother Chris Crump got in on the action with a seven-yard run for six.

Charleston Harris, Wes Williams, and Gaines sealed the Bronco win with touchdowns before the break.

“We scored real quick on our first five possessions. Because of our lead, we were able to run the clock in the second half and all of our JV kids got in the game. Everyone played well.”
Jack noted that the defense did a great job holding Lockney under 100 yards on the night, and the offensive line was sharp once again. 

“We overwhelmed them,” Jack said.

“Chris Schultz had two sacks, Jacob Pigg had a fumble recovery, and Chris Crump had two sacks.  Johnny Gaines had an interception, and Bradley Watson made some great catches.” 
Jack also noted that R.J. Nino, Jayson Pigg, Jacob Pigg, Trent White, and David Roberts did a great job on the line and gave Gaines good pass protection throughout the night.
Jack is proud of the way the Broncos are playing and the success they have had this season. 

“We have a great group of seniors,” Jack said.  “They have great leadership – the best by far that I have seen in my time here.” 
Jack also credits the coaching staff for the great season. 

“Our coaching staff has been great. Clarendon has a lot of talent, but it takes great coaches, too.”

The Broncos will take on Panhandle Friday night and a out-right District title is on the line for the Broncos. 

“We haven’t won a District Championship since 1981,” Jack said. “We have been in the play offs for four years straight.  We want to win the Panhandle game and go in as the number one seed.  That will give us a bye in the first round of the play offs.” 

Jack knows the Panthers can be a tough opponent.

“They have struggled some this season, but they always play hard.”

The game will be played November 5 in Panhandle beginning at 7:30 pm and will be the last regular season game for the Broncos.

Great seasons are determined by great players and the 2010 Bronco football team continues to rack up victory after victory in their quest for a super season.  Their latest win came at home against a very physical and tough Quanah team in their District opener at 35-14.  The Broncos are at 7-1 overall and 1-0 in District play.

After a first possession score by the Indians, which has not happened all year, the Broncos settled into what has worked for them all season, and they quickly scored 28 unanswered points in the first three quarters of play.

The first score came when quarterback Johnny Gaines hit Trevor Cobb with a pass for a 37-yard touchdown.  Before the time ran out in the first period Gaines put up another six on a one-yard run and added another in the second on a 53-yard run.  Clarendon’s signal caller racked up 111 yards on 16 carries and threw eight for twelve times for 164 yards in the air.  The Broncos had 427 total yards to only 269 for Quanah.

According to Jack, the offensive line blocked well for their quarterback and several players were able to make great catches.  Bradley Watson made a lot of really good catches, Jack said. Wes Williams scored on a nine-yard run in the third, and Chris Crump took it in from 23 yards out for the last score of the game.

“We played a solid game,” head coach Gary Jack said. 

“I was pleased with the win and the performance. We made very few mistakes.

“We moved the ball well and did what we needed to do.” 
Defensively, the Broncos were on target once again and held the Indians to only 14 points. 

“This is the first time Quanah has been held to under 22 points all year,” Jack said. “Overall it was a good performance and the better team won.” 

Wes Williams recorded 15 tackles; one caused fumble and one recovered fumble in the game. 

Mike Crump had a big game for the Broncos, and Charleston Harris registered 11 tackles.

The Broncos will play Lockney at home Friday, October 30, in their last home game of the season beginning at 7:30 p.m.

 

The Broncos breezed through their Homecoming game against Gruver Friday night in Bronco Stadium with a 42-6 win before a huge hometown crowd. 
The dominance by the Bronco team was undeniable, and the Greyhounds were left helpless throughout.  Clarendon racked up 356 total yards to only 97 yards for a struggling Gruver team. The Broncos accumulated 223 of those yards on the ground resulting in four touchdowns. 
Mike Crump got things rolling for the Broncos very early in the game when he scored from one yard out to give Clarendon the advantage.  Brother Chris Crump then caught two passes for touchdowns from 28 and 33 yards respectively, and Mike Crump topped off the first quarter scoring with a 14-yard run.  Mike Crump scored again in the second quarter on a four-yard run, and Wes Williams ended the scoring frenzy with a big 73-yard run that resulted in six.  Coby Braughton added all the bonus kicks for the Broncos. 
“Once again, our line did a great job for us,” head coach Gary Jack said.  “We did a lot of good things. Johnny (Gaines) threw the ball well.  Bradley Watson made some good catches for us, and Mike (Crump) and Wes (Williams) ran the ball, too.  Our defense did a good job and shut them out through three quarters.” 
The Broncos’ controlled the game, which allowed the younger players to get playing time. 
“Because of the lead we had, we were able to take our starters out in the second half and let some of the junior varsity players get in the game,” Jack said.  “And that helped us to stay fairly healthy.”
The Broncos are definitely in the hunt for post-season play and are expecting to go deep in the play offs.  They have already fought through several tough opponents and after an open date this week are hoping to continue their dominance on the field with their District opponents. 
“We had a good non-district run and went 6-1,” Jack said.  “And we’ll play Quanah in our first District game at home.  It will be the most challenging game of the District, and we’re looking forward to it.”

The Wellington Skyrockets never had a chance against the Broncos Friday night. Clarendon came full force and made a statement and set the tempo from the opening kickoff.

The Broncos’ first six points came on the second play of the game when quarterback Johnny Gaines ran it in from 62 yards out and kicked the extra point.

The Broncos’ intensity proved to be Wellington’s downfall in the 49-20 massacre.

To add insult to injury, the Broncos forced two Rocket fumbles early that resulted in scores for Clarendon. Gaines threw a 17-yard strike to Bradley Watson and Mike Crump scored from 15 yards out to put the Broncos up 20-6 in the opening quarter of play.

“That was pretty fun to do that over there,” head coach Gary Jack said.

“We had some nice breaks early and we capitalized on them. We went at them hard; and by the third quarter, they didn’t know what hit them.

“It was a sweep all the way around last week against Wellington from third grade through high school.”

The Broncos racked 365 total yards in the win and the scoring was split between five different players. Watson and Gaines teamed up for another 15-yard TD in the second quarter with Gaines adding the two-point bonus to go up 28-6 at the break.

Clarendon picked up in the second half of play just as they had left it in the opening half when Jerami Johnson caught a Gaines pass on Wellington’s 35-yard line and ran it in for another Bronco score. In the Rockets’ next series, the Broncos forced a fumble that Gaines picked up for a 60-yard touchdown, which gave Clarendon a 42-6 lead. Wes Williams scored in the final period on a 14-yard run to round out the Broncos’ scoring.

“With just 11:50 left in the game, we were up 49-6,” Jack said. “It was a pretty convincing win for us, and they were in shock. The kids did and great job and responded well. Our coaching staff did a great job, too.”
Jerami Johnson played well according to Jack. He caught a touchdown pass and had several tackles on defense.

“Johnny had his normal good game,” Jack said.

“And Bradley Watson had a big game, too, and made some great catches in traffic.”
Jack said both lines played well and everyone did a great job in the win. But Johnson will be out for a few weeks with a leg injury.

“With Jerami being out, we’ll have to juggle some people around,” Jack said.
The Broncos will end their three-game road trip next Friday night when they go to Sunray.

Jack knows it will be a tough game.

“Sunray is a tough team, but we’ll have to guard from having a letdown after such a big win. It’s been awhile since we’ve beat Sunray. It will be a good game.”
The game with Sunray will be held Friday, October 1, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
CHS Homecoming will be October 8. The Broncos will take on the Gruver Greyhounds. Kickoff will be at 7:30.