Sandy Anderberg

The Broncos slammed West Texas High early in the first inning to earn the Bi-District Championship last week. The best two out of three games ended early as the Broncos shut them out 12-0 in the first game and won big at 11-5 in the second.

Clarendon will play Ralls on Friday, May 13, at 5:00 p.m. and Saturday, May 14, at 1:00 p.m. in Plainview for the area title.

Brock Hatley pitched a solid three innings in the first game allowing no hits and setting eight batters down. Aiden Caudle came in for two and threw out two hitters before Tyler Harper came in to close for one inning and posted three strikeouts.

The Broncos ran through the Comanches starting strong from the first pitch. They were able to rack up six hits that scored 12 runs to take the commanding lead.

Lyric Smith hit two doubles in the game, and Calder Havens added two singles to get runners on the base. Harper and Caudle helped with one single each.

The team made short work of West Texas in the second game as well defeating them 11-5. The Broncos had 13 hits that scored the 11 runs with a big innings in the fourth and the sixth. Along with the hits and runs, the Broncos had nine RBIs and eight stolen bases.

The Comanches struck first with two runs scored while holding the Broncos scoreless until the fourth inning when they added five runs to tie the score at five all. Solid hitting and great defensive plays allowed the Broncos to score six more runs in the last two at bats while holding WT scoreless in the final innings of the game. Harrison Howard was on the mound of six innings allowing only five hits and posting 11 strikeouts. Hatley came in the game in relief and struck out three batters and only allowed one run.

Smith had a single, triple, three RBIs, two runs, and two stolen bases. Hatley also connected with a triple and a double, one RBI, and two runs scored. Caudle was solid on offense finishing with a single, double, one RBI, and one run. Howard picked up his offense with two singles, one RBI, and two runs.

In the second game, Havens had a single, an RBI, two runs, and two stolen bases while Wilson Ward hit one single and one RBI. Harper, Easton Frausto, and Jared Musick each posted on double. Jace Cottrell earned one run and stole two bases and Bradin Balogh had one run and one stolen base.

The Lady Broncos’ softball team is off to a great start in the ’22 season sitting at 6-1 for the year. The ladies posted three wins last two weeks over Claude, Booker, and Perryton, after dropping a game to Pampa.

The Lady Broncos stopped Claude in their tracks with freshman Kennadie Cummins on the mound for five innings giving up only two hits and striking out 12 hitters. Cummins had help from the Lady Bronco offense who scored five runs in the first two innings. According to Elam, the Lady Broncos slowed down at the plate after a running off the first five points early on.

“Overall, our hitters struggled on the day,” Elam said.

Fellow freshmen Hayden Elam and Tandie Cummins and junior Jayde Gribble played solid softball. Elam was two for three driving in two, scoring two runs, and nabbing four stolen bases. T. Cummins also stole four bases and scored three runs, while Gribble drove in three runs.

The Lady Broncos defeated Booker 12-2. T. Cummins was on the mound and only allowed five hits in six innings and struck 10 hitters out.

The Bronco baseball team was busy over spring break playing several games.

They shut out Quanah on March 8 22-0 with Senior Brock Hatley on the mound. Hatley pitched two innings in the three-inning game and had four strikeouts. Jared Musick came in for one inning and struck out two batters.

The Broncos enjoyed a big day at the plate with 16 hits and 9 RBIs in the win.

Hatley and Caulder Havens were solid at the plate with four at-bats each that they turned into four hits. Hatley had six RBI and the duo combined for four runs. Aiden Caudle and Easton Frausto followed up strong with five hits together and seven RBI. The Indians struggled and could not connect at the plate.

On Friday, the Broncos improved their record with a big 27-4 over the Claude Mustangs.
Once again the Broncos worked their magic at the plate with almost every player snagging one hit and posting 17 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Frausto had four runs, one stolen base and Jodee Pigg collected three RBIs. Caudle was on the mound for three innings throwing 33 strikes and 21 balls. He allowed only four hits and posted five strikeouts. Anthony Ceniceros and Frausto pitched one inning each facing 11 hitters.

The Broncos took on a tough Nazareth team and narrowly lost at 3-5. Hatley pitched five innings with three hits and eight strikeouts. Musick came in as relief for two innings and had four strikeouts.
Lyric Smith posted two runs and three stolen bases and Frausto added one run.

The Broncos will play at home against Tulia on March 26 at 9:00 a.m. and play a district game with Wellington at home on March 29 at 4 p.m.

Senior Lamarcus Penigar helped to lead the Broncos to another State Championship last weekend and earned the honor of the 2A Most Valuable Player. Penigar had a game high of 41 points against the number one ranked Lipan Indians in the Broncos’ 65-51 win.

Along with his 7 of 10 three-pointers in the two games and 56 total points, Penigar was 11 of 13 from the bonus line that included three in a row when he was fouled on a three-pointer late in the game. He had 13 rebounds and five assists.

After sitting out some of the first half because of foul trouble in the championship game, Penigar came in and went to work from behind the arc.

“In the first half, I was in foul trouble, and they were down, so I had to come up with a nice little plan,” Penigar said. “I got hot, so when you get hot, you just keep shooting.”

The 41 points in that game were the most points scored by one player in a 2A championship game since 1964.

Lipan’s coach Brent Gaylor and players complimented the Broncos on their win.

“In the first half, we played our style of game,” Gaylor said. “Penigar is a good player, and I told him so. After the game, I shook his hand. I think I got some burns because he was still hot. He had a great game offensively. We planned to keep him on the floor driving and maybe get him into some foul trouble. It’s hard to keep him in front of you, and he doesn’t need much space to get that shot off.”

Lipan senior Zach Ross did a good job of staying in Penigar’s face in the first half.

“He just got rolling,” Ross said. “And that’s all he needed. He did what he had to do. He’s a momentum player, and he played amazing.”

Coach Boston Hudson was excited for the championships.

“It is so exciting to go back-to-back,” Hudson said. “This hasn’t happened since the 2014-2015 Canadian team did it. I am grateful we played well at the right times. Glad for these three seniors to go out like this.”

Hudson knows the talent that all of his players have. And his game plan worked when it needed to.

“I told them to keep them off the boards, so they didn’t get second chance points.”

As for Penigar’s scoring frenzy, Hudson added, “Lamarcus did Lamarcus things.”

Joining Penigar on the State Tournament Team is senior Cayden D’Costa and junior Jmaury Davis. D’Costa had 26 total points, 22 rebounds, four steals, four out of five free throws, and three assists. Davis racked up 30 points and 16 rebounds. Outgoing senior Jordan Herndon had 12 points, 11 rebounds, hit four for four from the bonus line, and had seven assists.

The Broncos pulled off a good win in the Bi-District round of post-season play by defeating Sunray 60-34 in Pampa Monday night.

The game was not as close as the score revealed as the Broncos’ early shots did not want to go in. But the team stayed solid and worked through their struggles to come out on top.

Three players finished in double figures in the with the team recording seven three-pointers and 50 percent from the bonus line overall.

The early lead belonged to the Broncos at 15-7 after the first eight minutes. Sunray played a scrappy game but could not keep up with the Broncos’ quickness and sharp passes. Their offensive execution gave them the edge they needed, as they were able to settle in and increase their lead to get the win. Lamarcus Penigar led the way with 21, Jmaury Davis helped with 19, and Cayden D’Costa added 11. Tyler Harper and Anthony Ceniceros put in three points each, Kaleb Bolin had two, and Lyric Smith added one free throw.

Last Saturday, the Broncos played in the Randall HS Playoff Preview and went up against Alpine. The Broncos hit 11 shots from the arc and finished with hitting 88 percent of their free throws in their 80-47 win.
Davis led with 29, Penigar had 27, and D’Costa added 14.

The Broncos will play in the Area Round this Friday against Vega at Canyon High School at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at https://bit.ly/3vc0d9J.

The Lady Broncos continued riding high last week with two big wins that gave them the Area title.

Early last week, the Lady Broncos took on Stratford in the Bi-District round and got by them 32-26. Makenna Shadle put in 13 points in the game that included shooting 50 percent from the free throw line and hitting two three-pointers. The

Lady Broncos held the early lead after the first eight minutes and increased their lead to seven at halftime. The Lady Elks struggled to make up the difference before time ran out which allowed Clarendon to get the win.

Joining Shadle on the scoreboard was Madie Smith and Finley Cunningham with six each, Courtlyn Conkin with four, Graci Smith with two, and Hayden Elam with one.

The win over Stratford put them in the Area round against Bovina last Friday; and after a hard-fought battle, the Lady Broncos won, 61-55, in overtime. The ladies executed successfully early on in the game to grab a seven-point advantage at the break enduring a very physical contest. Cunningham was on fire with the three ball and hit five from the arc in the game to finish with 24.

The Lady Broncos picked up where they left off in the third quarter of play to increase the point difference but fell off in the final eight minutes as they allowed Bovina to get back into the game. After the end of regulation, the score was 48 all to send the game to OT.

Shadle was able to take it to the hoop and iced six shots from the bonus line, and Conkin and G. Smith added two free throws each to the point total in the overtime minutes, that allowed the ladies the big win. Helping Cunningham was Conkin who had nine points that included hitting four for four from the bonus line and knocking down one three-pointer. Shadle put in eight and Jayde Gribble added six from her post position. G. Smith had six as well and M. Smith and Elam helped with four each.

The Ladies’ season came to an end in Childress Tuesday night with a loss to Wellington. Game details will be printed in next week’s Enterprise.

Last Friday night, a deep-ranked Panhandle Pantherette team rolled into Clarendon looking for a big win in the opening game of their District schedule; but the Lady Broncos met them at the door and handed them a 44-30 loss.

The teams were fairly even after the first eight minutes, but the Lady Broncos turned up the heat and jumped out to a six-point lead at halftime. Picking up where they left things in the second quarter, the Lady Broncos quickly found their rhythm and made a statement to their opponents, but putting big points on the board. High scorer Hayden Elam made a move in the second half and scored 11 of her 19 total points to help her team secure the win. Elam made good on two three-pointers in the game and went two for two from the bonus line.

Finley Cunningham left no doubt from the arch and hit three-three pointers for nine points. Madie Smith put on a clinic from the free throw line sinking 8 for 8 and Makenna Shadle finished the game with eight points as well.

Earlier in the week, the Lady Broncos hosted Amarillo High junior varsity and lost 35-51. The ladies struggled from the opening quarter and could never get anything going. Trailing 18-26 at the break, the Lady Broncos could not stop the Sandies and took the loss. Shadle led the way with 10 points and Jayde Gribble put in eight. Aubrey Weatherton finished with six, and Smith and Elam put in five points each.

The ladies will continue their District schedule on Friday, January 14 at home against Wellington and at home against Shamrock on Tuesday, January 18.