Sandy Anderberg

For the Bronco football players and coaches another summer has come and gone and next week will begin the two-a-day workouts for the CHS 2009 football season, according to Athletic Director Gary Jack.

Football equipment will be issued Saturday, August 1, at 11:00 a.m. for seniors through freshmen. Practice will begin Monday morning August 3 at 7:30 a.m. sharp.
“The morning session will run until approximately 12:30 p.m. with an hour break in the middle,” Jack said. “All athletes are expected to be on time, clean shaven, have a good short haircut, and be at all practices and meetings.”

Girls and boys cross-country athletes grades 9-12 need to report to the gym Monday, August 3, at 6:00 p.m. All girl athletes playing other sports at CHS are highly encouraged to participate in cross-country.

All incoming 7th,-9th-11th graders and new students must have a doctor’s physical prior to practice. The physicals will be held at the Clarendon Clinic on Saturday, August 1, beginning at 9:00 a.m. at a cost of $10. Athletes must wear shorts to the physical, drink plenty of water, and have their paper work all filled out including parents’ signatures where needed.

Those not needing physicals should bring their completed paper work on the first day of practice.
The coaches are excited about the upcoming season and hope the athletes are as well.

“Our expectations are always high ever year, especially after the great year we had last year,” Jack said. “We are planning on being in the playoffs and making deep runs in every sport. So come out and get ready for a fun year!”

The previous playoff games that Clarendon played resulted in very favorable outcomes for the Broncos, but the Region I-1A semifinal turned out to be a thorn in their side as Miles spoiled their perfect post-season play.
After climbing back from trailing 2-9 to leading 10-9, the Broncos finally gave way to the Bulldogs and were defeated 13-11. Their great playoff run and remarkable season came to an end just a few games away from the state tournament, but it was recorded as a successful year.

“We started out slow and dug ourselves a deep hole,” head coach Brad Elam said.

Elam went onto say that pitcher Troy Chambless came in to relieve Gaines in the fifth inning and was plagued by the same error bug as Gaines.
“Both pitchers pitched well enough to win if we were making plays,” Elam said.

The Broncos were down 2-9 going into the fifth when the Broncos exploded for eight runs and the lead according to Elam.

“David Roberts doubled in Johnny Gaines, and Bradley Watson singled in Roberts,” Elam said. “Devin Noble drove in Derrick Shelton, who had singled; and Brayden Phillips walked to load the bases.”

With a Bronco on every bag, the Miles’ coach made a pitching change; and Alton Gaines doubled in all three on the first pitch he saw to cut the lead to 9-8, Elam said. After a J. Gaines’ walk and Roberts was put on due to an error, Alton Gaines scored to put the tying score on the board right before brother Johnny scored on a wild pitch to take the lead.

“Miles scored four in the bottom of the fifth for a 13-10 lead,” Elam said. “We had runners on in the sixth but couldn’t get them home. (Then) J. Gaines scored on a Derrick Shelton double in the seventh to cut the lead, and we had runners on second and third before we made the last out.

“We were almost able to duplicate our past comeback performances but just weren’t able to on this day. The guys showed a lot of heart coming from such a huge deficit late, and I was extremely proud of them. We had such a great season, and I am so proud of the effort we gave all season.”

It was all going their way and all that was left was to wait for the buzzer, but the Highland Park Hornets had another plan in mind in the championship game of the annual Greenbelt Classic Tournament.

The Hornets edged out the Broncos by four points at 58-54 Saturday night at the Bronco Gymnasium.

The Broncos cleared the way in the first three quarters of play for the eventual victory, but gave way to the Hornets in the fourth quarter. Turnovers plagued the home team and Highland Park capitalized heavily on them to take over the lead with just seconds left in the game. The Hornets scored 25 points to only 11 for the Broncos to get the win.

“I didn’t think we played our very best,” coach Clint Coley said. “We know we can play better. It was our second tournament in a row with only a couple of days in between, and maybe it would be a good time for a break. I thought Highland Park played well to get the win. We played several close games in the tournament, and we found a way to win, but we came up short in the end.”

Scoring: Johnny Gaines 13, Danzel Wilson 12, Stephino McCampbell 7, Jadon Thornton 6, Alton Gaines 4, Derrick Shelton 4, Tré Brown 4, Jesus Hernandez 2, and Aaron Gordon 2.

Earlier in the tournament, the Broncos easily got by River Road 53-45 in the first round, but they had a little more trouble with White Deer in the second round. The Bucks were persistent in the fight, but the Broncos outplayed and outlasted them and won by two at 46-44.

The Broncos came from behind in the River Road game in the first half to take over the lead in the third quarter. A big-scoring final period helped the Broncos seal the win over the Wildcats.

Scoring: White Deer: A. Gaines 16, J. Gaines 14, Shelton 5, Wilson 4, Brown 3, Gordon 2, and McCampbell 2. River Road: A. Gaines 15, Wilson 12, J. Gaines 10, Shelton 5, Brown 4, McCampbell 4, Hernandez 2, and Thornton 1.

The Broncos will participate in the Caprock Tournament in Lubbock December 29-31. According to Coley, this tournament has been around better than 50 years.

“This is a really good tournament,” Coley said. “It is sponsored by AmBucks and all the proceeds go to special needs children for any equipment they might need. There will be 32 boys and 32 girls teams in the tourney. It will give us a chance to play bigger schools, which we have really been doing all season.

“We will play Friona in the first round; and if we win, we will play Midland Greenwood, which is a 3A school, in the second round,” Coley said. “We are playing good competition and bigger schools, and we know that will help us in the end.”

The Broncos will travel to Childress December 19 in their last regular season game before the break. Tip-off will be at 7:30 p.m.

The Western Lone Star Senior Ladies Golf Association Tournament ended Thursday after four days of great golf at the Clarendon Country Club. 

The community welcomed the 72 contestants on Sunday and could only hope for the kind of week that would be fitting for a golf tournament of that caliber.  As many will attest, the week was packed full of fun and great golf as the weather turned out to be the icing on the cake. 

“Everything went fantastic,” Maxine McLaughlin said. “We had a lot of help to make it the tournament that is was.” 

Incoming WLSSLGA president Sherol Johnston agreed with McLaughlin.

“We had a great week of golf,” Johnston said. “The community put forth a lot of effort and the feedback from the golfers was exciting. And the weather was exceptional.”

The local economy benefited from the tournament as participants filled hotel rooms and boosted sales at downtown merchants who gave them a hearty welcome.

Amarillo golfer Sue Sisemore defeated LaNelle Guelker 6 and 5 to take the top spot in the Championship flight.  Connie Crossland defeated Kay Pogue 4 and 3 and Joan Daniel defeated Vernie Schacher 2 and 1 for consolation.  The first flight winner was Judy Rice by defeating Sandy Bynum 3 and 2.  Anita Talbott defeated Gail Leathers 4 and 3 and consolation was won by Carolyn Greene when she defeated Rhea Scott 1-up after 19 holes.  Janice Puryear defeated Barbara Hardy 2-up to win the second flight and Donna Cain defeated Alice Dosher 1-up.  Sherri Sargant defeated Charlend Sherwood 6 and 4 for consolation.

Ida Goad defeated Patty DeRight 4 and 3 to win the third flight, and Wilma Higginbottam defeated Ka Wilfong 1-up after 20 holes.  JoAnn Hillger defeated Susie Dale 5 and 4 to win consolation.  Melody Goad defeated Kay Reynolds 5 and 4 to win the fourth flight.  Richelle Culifer defeated Suzy Reed 2 and 1 and Judy Moss defeated Texie Fisher 4 and 2.  Mary Ann Sawyer defeated Sally Tucker 1-up after 19 to win the fifth flight, and Gayle Hulsey defeated Annie Ward 1-up.  The consolation winner was Sis Deeds over Linda Elder 2-up.

Ouida Gage defeated Maxine McLaughlin 3 and 2 to win the sixth flight.  Ester Guelker defeated Linda Foxhall 2 and 1, and Beverly Obenshain defeated Nelwyn Ward 5 and 4 for consolation.  Kay Moore defeated Myra Schmitt 5 and 4 to win the seventh flight 5 and 4, and Monet Lasater defeated Lenita Fryar 3 and 1, and Sue Ward defeated Gay McPherson 3 and 2 for consolation.  Lynda Tye defeated Ann Sexton 2 and 1 to win the eighth flight and Sandy Ware defeated Sandy Jones 4 and 2.  Betty LaGrone defeated Ann Johnson 2-up to win consolation.  Irita Colson shot a gross 41 to win the non-winners Broken Spoke Medal Play nine-hole tournament and Diane Martin shot a net 31 to win low net.

The winner of the Friday night nine-hole scramble was the team of Chris Linquist, Norm Hagood, Cody Watson, and Mark Morris at six under par.  Sixteen players participated in the scramble.

The last Friday for the nine-hole scrambles will be Friday, September 26 at 6:00 pm.

 Please call the Pro Shop before 5:00 to enter.  The dining room will be open each Friday night and Sunday at noon.

“Golfers; Hitch Up Your Wagons” is the theme for the 17th Annual Western Lone Star Senior Ladies Golf Association Tournament that will be hosted by the Ladies Golf Association of the Clarendon Country Club.

The four-day tournament will begin September 14 and run through September 18 and is only for ladies 50 years of age and older.

Each year the tournament is held at a different golf course that has previously bid to host the tournament at their club. The LGA of the CCC bid on the tournament three years ago and began preparations immediately. They have all worked tirelessly and continually to insure the tournament would be a success.

“Our ladies golf association has been preparing since we were awarded the tournament,” golfer Maxine McLaughlin said. “We have received great support from the community, and our ladies have pitched in to make sure we have the greatest tournament possible.”

Seventy-two women will participate in the match-play tournament. There will be a Championship flight and eight other flights in the format.

“The golfers had to mail in their entry about three weeks ago,” McLaughlin said. “We had more than 72 ladies enter, but there is only room for a certain number of golfers to fill the nine flights. The remaining golfers were put on a waiting list, and if someone cannot compete, the next golfer in line will be able to enter the tournament and play.”

There are many great golfers from around the area, and they will start arriving in Clarendon on Sunday, September 13, to begin preparations for the week. Golfers will come from Alpine, Amarillo, Andrews, Big Spring, Borger, Canadian, Canyon, Childress, Clarendon, Dumas, Farwell, Graham, Hereford, Lubbock, Memphis, Muleshoe, Shamrock, Snyder, and Tulia.

Last year’s tournament was hosted by Hereford, and next year’s tournament will be in Andrews. The golfers will be allowed to play practice rounds on Sunday, and Monday will be a qualifying round to determine medallist for the regular tournament and the senior tournament, which is open to those 65 and over. Match play rounds will be played Tuesday and Wednesday, and the Championship round will be played Thursday when the champion will be crowned.

There will also be a nine-hole Broken Spoke tournament on Thursday for the non-winners of the week.

Local golfer Sherol Johnston will not only participate in the tournament, she is also part of the governing board for the WLSSLGA and servers as the vice-president. Next year Johnston will be the president of the association.

“This is a big tournament for the ladies,” Johnston said. “We have a lot of very good golfers coming to play from around the area, and there are 24 ladies golf organizations that will be represented at our tournament.”

According to Johnston, the requirements to play in the senior ladies association is that you are at least 50 years of age and you are active in the ladies golf association of your local club.

“This is the 17th year for the tournament,” Johnston said. “We have worked hard to bring great opportunities to our town and county. The ladies that come to play will stay in our motels, eat at our restaurants, and shop in our stores.

“The community has really stepped up, and we are looking for a great week.”

There will be nightly festivities at the CCC with things kicking off Sunday evening, September 14, with a Flag Raising Ceremony. The Pairings Party will be held Monday evening around the pool, and there will be an association meeting on Wednesday evening.

The Awards Banquet will be held Thursday after play at a buffet luncheon in the dining room. Some of the downtown merchants will remain open Tuesday night for late-night shopping for the out-of-town guests, but the public is invited to take advantage of the extended hours as well. 

Both McLaughlin and Johnston are excited for the tournament to begin.

“We feel like it will be a great tournament, and we are thankful for all of the support the community has offered to help us make this a fantastic week,” they said.

The Broncos took one more chance to work out the kinks in a game-type setting as they scrimmaged West Texas High at home Friday night.

According to head coach Gary Jack, the scrimmage proved to be a good test for the Broncos as they prepare for their season opener on the road Friday night.

“We started slow early on but came on pretty strong after that,” Jack said.

The Broncos improved from their previous scrimmage, but Jack feels a stronger start will be beneficial.

“We need to turn it up a notch and get started earlier in the game,” Jack said. “After we did get going, we pretty much dominated WT. We saw a lot of good things (in the scrimmage) against them, and we feel we’ll be ready for Claude.”

All the players got plenty of playing time according to Jack.

“Our junior varsity kids looked good, too,” Jack said. “Everybody got to play, and they did well.”

The Broncos will continue to work this week and make changes as needed.

“We shut down WT’s running game and then made adjustments to their passing game. We were able to score three times to only once for them.

“From halftime until the end, we totally dominated them. Their style differed from Nazareth, and that allowed us to practice a little different type of game plan. We’ll address some things in practice, but overall we were pleased with their effort.”

The Broncos will travel to Claude Friday night, August 29, with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. The JV will travel to Wellington Thursday, August 28, beginning at 5:00 p.m.

Ryan Rohlinger made the journey from Wisconsin to Texas to play baseball at Clarendon College under then coach Trent Petrie in 2003. 

After spending his freshman year as a Bulldog he moved on to Oklahoma University for his final three years.  But there was something special about Rohlinger and he was able to take the next step into Minor League Ball.  He played Class-A ball in San Jose and Double-A ball in Connecticut for the Giants’ organization. 

While in the minors, Rohlinger was credited with 13 home runs, 65 RBI, and hit .289 in 117 games. 

The 24-year old was called up August 13 to the major leagues and made the move to San Francisco to begin what he has dreamed about his entire life. 

While at CC, Rohlinger was a standout for the Bulldog Club and was named as a First Team All-American at second base.  He continued that level of play at OU and was selected to the All-Big 12 for three years. 

His former Bulldog coach, Trent Petrie was excited to hear of Rohlinger’s move to the major leagues. 

“Most kids decide where they want to play before they become seniors in high school,” Petrie said.  “But Ryan didn’t make the decision to come to Clarendon until a month before he came to play here.  I drove to Milwaukee to look at him and knew I wanted to sign him.  

“It worked out great for CC and also for Ryan.  In his only year here, he hit .450 with 25 home runs and 98 RBI’s.  I am very proud of him and wish him the best of luck.” 

While at CC, Rohlinger and the Bulldogs was the first Clarendon College baseball team to qualify for the Regional Tournament.

Rohlinger has already had five games at third base with the Giants and as of now, is hitting .111, but was as high as .250 at one time.  He has connected on one double and racked up one RBI so far and is their go-to man for third base.

“The more games you play,” Rohlinger said on mlb.com.  “The more comfortable you’re going to get.” 

Giants manager Bruce Bochy was quoted as saying, “It’s early, and he’ll been fine.  I think he’ll settle in. It takes a few games and I think he’ll get more comfortable with playing time.”