Sandy Anderberg

After battling hard and fighting to stay alive, the Lady Broncos succumbed to Windthorst in the Regional Semifinals in Vernon May 19. 

The game ended at a 5-14 loss for the Lady Bronco and allowed their opponent to advance to the next round. Coach Gary Jack praised his team for their determination to stay in the game. 

“This was the best team we have seen all season,” Jack said.  “Their pitcher was really good; but after we settled down, we were able to hit off her.” 

The Lady Broncos were down by eight runs by the third inning but closed the gap in the fifth as they scored their first four runs. 

“Sarah (Depew) slammed a true triple that went down the foul line to the fence,” Jack said.  “We were able to score our first two runs off Sarah’s hit.  That seemed to get us going.”  

The Lady Broncos went on to score another run in the sixth inning, but it just wasn’t enough to overtake the 2004 1A state champs. 

“We battled hard,” Jack said.  “Windthorst is just a very solid team, and we allowed them several unearned runs.  We made too many mistakes against them.  We just needed to make the routine plays defensively that we had been making all year. 

“They had several games previously where teams had not been able to score on them, and we were able to.”

Despite the loss, Jack was pleased with the season. 

“It’s been a great ride, and I am very proud of the girls.  I hate to see it end.  When you look at where we started and where we ended, it was just a great year for the girls.”

The Lady Broncos ended at 16-5 for the year.  It was by far the best record in their short five-year history.  Good things are happening in the CHS softball program, and they are expecting that run to continue next year.

It only took five innings for the Lady Broncos to flex their muscles and leave Marfa wondering what went wrong at the 1A Regional Quarterfinals in Big Spring last Friday. 

The Lady Broncos not only defeated the young team 12-2, they did so by taking advantage of the 10-run rule to end the game early and earn the right to play in the next round of post-season play. 

Senior Destiny Weatherton slammed two over-the-fence homeruns to help the Lady Broncos to their win.  The slugger also went 4-of-4 at the plate that included a single, a double, and five RBI’s. 

According to head coach Gary Jack, several Lady Broncos had good hits and each player contributed to the win. 

“We scored every inning,” Jack said.  “We took control from the start, and we had several big hits.  Haley (Shelton) hit to get on base and then got a stolen base.  She got our first score when Destiny hit a double.” 

Several other players followed suit in the next inning as Amina Abdullah hit and scored, and Sarah Depew’s triple to right field earned runs as well, putting the Lady Broncos up by three in the second.  The third inning proved big for the maroon and black as they put more numbers on the board. 

“They got two quick outs on us,” Jack said.  “But then Kaitlyn Howard and Amina Abdullah got on base, and Jamie Simmons knocked a run in, and Sarah Depew scored as well.” 

The Lady Broncos ended the game in the fifth inning when Laura Dziedzic hit the ball through the infield to score a runner and stop the game.

If the Lady Broncos played great offense, their defense was awesome as well. 

“Our defense played really well,” Jack said.  “We were very solid on the field.  Haley pitched great for us.  She had four strikeouts and no walks. Kristin White was solid at third base, and Kaitlyn made some good scoops at first.  Shanna Shelton was good behind the plate, and Jamie Simmons did a good job for us.  We were just very mentally prepared for the game; we took control from the start.”

The Lady Broncos will take on defending state champions Windthorst Thursday, May 19, at Vernon College in Vernon at 5:30 p.m.  A win there would send the Lady Broncos to the next level, which is the final step before a trip to the state tournament.  They will take on the winner of the Haskell and Clyde-Eula game at a time to be announced. 

“We are 16-4 on the year,” Jack said.   “And we are one of sixteen teams still left in 1A.  A win against Windthorst would be great.”

Thirty-two boys and girls teams competed in the second annual Greenbelt Classic Basketball Tournament held at the Bronco Gym and the Clarendon College Bulldog Gym December 28-30. 

The Panhandle Panthers took the boys’ championship, and the ladies from Vega walked away with the girls’ top spot. 

Three teams from Clarendon participated in the tournament with the Broncos finishing the best, taking second place, and the Lady Broncos completing the tournament in fourth place.

The Broncos faced Adrian in the first round and defeated them 97-28. 

“We played hard and well against a struggling Adrian team and scored a season high 97 points,” Coach Wade Callaway said. “A testament to our teamwork is that all 12 Broncos scored.” 

The Broncos played Grady, New Mex., in the second round; and despite a slow start, they finished strong and got the 62-51 win. 

“We came out sluggish against a much better Grady team,” Callaway said.  “We finished well and won by double digits.”

The Broncos then took on a strong Highland Park team in the semi-finals and got the 56-41 win over the Hornets. 

“We came out very strong,” Callaway said.  “However, we stumbled a bit in the second quarter and kept it close.  Again, in the second half we came out and put it away; and for the second time in the tournament, all 12 of the Broncos made it in the scoring column.” 

That win, over the Hornets, put the Broncos in the championship round against a tough 2A Panhandle team, who were named tournament champs with the 59-62 win over the Broncos. 

“We were down after the first quarter, but we played some of our best basketball of the year in the second quarter to take a 12-point lead into the locker room,” Callaway said. 

“I thought we played hard, but we just couldn’t hit some of our wide-open three-point shots (we were 0-9).  If we had shot badly (instead of horribly) from behind the arc, we would have won. 

“Even so, it was a great tournament; and it did for us what we wanted: got us ready for district.” 

Leading the scoring were Chase Thornberry 12 and Steven Ballard 12.

“Overall I thought we had a really good tournament,” Callaway said.  “For starters, I was proud of the way our Junior Varsity team responded after finding out the day before the tournament that they would be in it because a team dropped out on Monday.  All of them showed up and, for the most part, battled hard against varsity teams. 

“I appreciate all the people who had a hand in making our tournament a success.  We open district on Friday, the 7th at Wellington.  It will be a tough game, so we encourage all our Bronco fans to make it.”

On the ladies’ side of the tournament, the Lady Broncos drew Adrian in the first round, dominating their opponent 64-22.  They took on Hedley in the next round for the third time this year and defeated them 52-42 to advance into the next round.   The Lady Broncos didn’t fair well in that round as they went up against the eventual tournament winner, Vega, and were defeated 32-53. 

They then faced Panhandle in the next round for third place and fell short by six at 51-57. 

“The girls played hard,” Coach Steve Myatt said.  “We have some things to work on before district starts, but I feel sure we’ll be ready.  I also appreciate all of those who worked so hard to make our tournament a success.”

Both the Broncos and the Lady Broncos will begin district play Friday, January 7, at Wellington beginning at 6:30 p.m.  They will travel to Shamrock January 11.

The Lady Bulldogs have set themselves up for a play off spot in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference, which will begin March 7 in Lubbock.  With one game left to play, the Lady Bulldogs are currently sitting in 3rd place behind Midland and South Plains.

CC traveled to Big Spring to take on Howard College February 11.  They played hard for 40 minutes and walked away with the win, 75-70.

Freshman post player Sancho Lyttle put in 27 points, and Esther Chavez added 15 to help vault the Lady Bulldogs to their win.

The game stayed close throughout, but CC played strong defense and held off any attempt by Howard to gain the upper hand.

Ravon Justice and Nidia Garcia were also in double figures with 11 and 10 points respectively.

Also scoring were:  Cheryl Audain 4, Lana McCandless 3, Colby Davis 3, and Nivia Garcia 2.

The Lady Bulldogs’ next opponent was South Plains College.  The highly ranked team was too much for the Lady Bulldogs, and CC was defeated 73-52.

SPC played great defense, shutting down the Lady Bulldogs’ offense.  The Lady Bulldogs did shoot 70 percent from the free throw line but couldn’t get the big shots to fall.

Scoring were Justice 15, Lyttle 10, Nivia Garcia 7, Nidia Garcia 7, Davis 5, Vasha Adams 4, Esther Chavez 2, and McCandless 2.

They then faced Odessa College February 21 in Odessa. Despite a gallant come back attempt, the Lady Bulldogs fell 71-81.

Odessa led CC by 16 points at the break.  The Lady Bulldogs rallied back to within 10 points before time ran out. Sophomore guard Ravon Justice drained a whopping 31 points to lead her team in scoring.

“The game was much closer than the score revealed,” said Coach Wade Scott.  “We gave up too many 3-pointers and then had to foul at the end to have a chance at the win.”

Scott is excited about the remaining games on their schedule. 

“We play Midland Thursday night at home.  It’ll be a big game for us, and it’s our sophomores last home game as Lady Bulldogs.”

Scoring were Justice 31, Lyttle 19, Chavez 10, Audain 4, Nidia Garcia 4, and Davis 3.

Watching the Lady Bulldogs play ball is a real treat. Make it a part of your Thursday evening to catch both the men’s and women’s games.  The Lady Bulldogs begin at 5:50 p.m.

After much thought and anticipation, baseball and softball will be a UIL sport at Clarendon High School this year.

A full baseball and softball schedule is in place with District, Non-District games, and tournaments.  According to Head Baseball Coach Danny Brittain, there are two other teams in our District that offer baseball.  They are West Texas High and Wellington. 

The Broncos will play each District team three times.  Coach Brittain said he looked for there to be more schools in our District that will offer baseball next year.

“We are looking for a good year,” said Brittain, who will be assisted by Coach Roger Hoeltzel.   “We’re excited about the season, and we hope to have a good group of guys come out to play.” 

He also cited that they might have the numbers for a JV squad.  If that happens, they would play only once a week and not the same schedule that the varsity members would play.

Baseball has been around a long time in Clarendon. The kids are very familiar with the game, and summer league has been a huge success for Clarendon. Coach Brittain doesn’t anticipate any big differences for High School baseball compared to Summer League.

“Basically everything will be the same.  The biggest adjustment will be the bat weight.  The rules state that the bat must be no more than three ounces lighter than its entire length”. 

The baseball season will get underway with the Broncos going up against the Perryton JV on February 23 at home.  District games begin March 20 with the last game being played April 24.  All three teams will automatically qualify for the play offs, which will begin after their last regular season game.

All games will be played on McLellan Field at City Park with an exception of one game which will be played at Clarendon College’s new Bulldog Field on April 24.

Lady Bronco softball will also debut at Clarendon High School. 

“We’re really excited about the fact that we are getting softball here at CHS,” said Coach Kathy Barton.  “We’ve got a lot of girls signing up.  We’ll have enough to have a JV squad also.”

The biggest change from summer league softball for the girls will be that high school softball is fast-pitch.  “It’s a faster-paced game than the regular softball in the summer,” said Barton.

West Texas High is the only other team in the District.  The Lady Broncos will play them three times in district play, and both teams automatically advance to Bi-District level play on April 28 and Area play on May 5.

“We haven’t scheduled any games that will conflict with track meets,” said Barton.  “We won’t interfere with track workouts either.  And of course, while we’re still in basketball play offs, we won’t start any softball workouts.”

All softball games will be played at Hart-Moore Field at City Park .