Sports

Four Hedley High School athletes advanced to regionals following the district track meet March 31 in White Deer.

Taylee Ehlert was lone Lady Owl placing at the meet and advanced in the discus after a throw of 65’4”. Ehlert also ran in the 800M, placing 8th with a time of 3:23.15.

Josh Booth advanced for the Owls after winning the 1600M with a time of 5:14.91. Javier Valles placed 6th at 6:30.70, and Hayden Alston also ran.

Alston and Valles advanced in the 3200, placing 3rd and 4th respectively with times of 13:41.02 and 14:10.58.

Braden Bond placed 6th in the 300M hurdles with a time of 53.91.

Valles also participated in the long jump but did not place.

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.

The Clarendon Broncos took ownership of the San Antonio Alamodome while making history for the second year in a row, defeating Lipan 65-51 to win the state 2A basketball championship.

The 2021-2022 team knew early on they could come back and win it all again, and that is just what they did. The Broncos blew through LaRue LaPoynor in the Semi-Final round that forced a rematch of the 2020-2021 State Semi-Final game with #1 ranked Lipan.

Lipan came out hot in the first quarter and led 11-8 going into the second quarter. The undefeated Indians then turned up the heat and extended their lead.

After trailing by eight points at halftime, head coach Boston Hudson lit a fire under the Bronco players and to say they came out and took control is an understatement. With only 17 seconds into the third, the senior leadership kicked in.

Jordan Herndon made back-to-back threes to close the gap, and Lamarcus Penigar, who would claim the MVP title of the game, nailed the first of six from downtown at the five-minute mark. Penigar found his rhythm and added a field goal about every minute until the clock ticked down to only four seconds in the third period.

The Broncos held a 10-point cushion and the momentum going into the final eight minutes of the game but still had fuel in the tank.

“The first half we really weren’t making any shots and kind of playing their game,” Herndon said. “Coach told us we had to step up as seniors and show leadership, so we got the team rolling. I was just looking for him (Penigar); and if he was calling for the ball, I was going to give it to him.”

Penigar added 16 more points in the final period to close the game out at 41, which hasn’t happened in a 2A state tournament game since 1964.

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

The Broncos did get hot in the second half after, and according to Hudson, they were a little sluggish, and the ball wasn’t moving really well in the first half.

Fellow senior Cayden D’Costa played two solid games at the tournament and finished with 12 defensive rebounds and four on the offensive side. He also had four steals and three assists in the games.

“This is a lot sweeter than it was last year,” D’Costa said. “Especially because it’s the last time we get to play with these guys, and we have the best coach we could ask for.”

Junior Texas Tech football signee Jmaury Davis played strong and was consistent as always. Davis was able to get the crowd on their feet with a fast break windmill dunk that rocked the house.

“I was attempting to do it the whole time, but they kept getting back fast,” Davis said. “I finally got the opportunity to do it. I didn’t want it to be just a regular dunk and wanted to get the crowd into it.”

“Our fan-base traveled so well,” Hudson said. “We are so thankful for their support; they followed us all year.”
Joining Penigar with his 41 points was D’Costa with 10, Davis and Herndon with six each, and Lyric Smith with two.

Lipan Coach Brent Gaylor and his Indians were very complimentary of Clarendon’s ability.

“We talked at halftime about not letting them get a three-pointer or dunk because they are a momentum-oriented team,” Gaylor said. “Clarendon plays at such a higher level when they are feeling that good.”

Hudson knows that high level of play too well.

“They doubled Jmaury because he killed them last year in the state semi-final game, and they face-guarded Lamarcus in the first half (to keep the ball out of his hands).”

The State Semi-Final game began with the Broncos flying down the court to use a 7-0 run in the opening two minutes of the game to set the tempo of the game and earn a 69-60 win over LaRue LaPoynor on Friday.

The Broncos jumped out early in the game and looked to start a blowout against the Flyers with a 15-point lead with only three minutes left in the first quarter. A good shooting second period of play for the Broncos, put the Flyers on the ropes at halftime. But LaPoynor chipped away and narrowed the gap to single digits down the stretch. With only ticks left on the clock, the Flyers came within five points, but the Bronco offense got to work to extend the lead to nine. The Bronco defense worked hard to hold LaPoynor at bay to get the win. Sophomore Lyric Smith had a good day on the boards with 11 rebounds, and Herndon grabbed eight and had five assists. Anthony Ceniceros had seven rebounds and four assists, and D’Costa added six rebounds and three assists.

Davis had a great game and led the way with 24 points and 12 rebounds. D’Costa finished with 16, and Penigar had 15. Herndon had six, Tyler Harper and Ceniceros put in three each, and Smith added two points in the win.

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 2nd ranked 29-2 Clarendon Broncos are making history for the second year in a row as they head back to San Antonio for the 2A State Basketball Semi-Final round later this week. Never has a Clarendon team won a State Championship and returned the next year to defend their title.

They will return with most of the players that won the 2021 Championship minus State MVP Donovan Thompson and Ethan Babcock who graduated last spring.

The Broncos are on fire as they continue in the playoffs executing their game plan against two tough teams in the Texas Dome on the South Plains campus last weekend. They took on New Home in the semi-final round and defeated them 64-53. The first quarter went back and forth with New Home holding a one-point advantage. But the Broncos were able to bounce back and owned the second eight minutes that allowed the them to retake the lead at the break. Junior Jmaury Davis came on strong after the break and led the way with four huge dunks to help the Broncos grab all the momentum. The Leopards fought back in the final minutes, but the Broncos’ sharp shooting gave them the game. Davis, Lyric Smith, and Jordan Herndon finished in double figures in the game with 24, 13, and 10 points, respectively. Also scoring was Lamarcus Penigar with eight, Cayden D’Costa with seven, and Tyler Harper with two.

The win put the Broncos right where they belonged as they went up against a good Christoval team in the Regional Final game on Saturday. A 14-2 run by the Broncos in the final quarter gave them the game and the championship as they defeated the Cougars 60-49.

The Cougars jumped out to blast the Broncos with the early lead when Jaron Slaton pumped in three three-pointers in a row and the Broncos found themselves in a not so familiar spot. But the Broncos persevered and came raging back to come with two points after the first quarter. They were able to continue their dominance in the next eight minutes and gave themselves a little cushion going into the break.

With an upset on their mind, the Cougars stormed back in the third period posting a 14-3 run to regain the lead with only one quarter remaining. But just like earlier, the Broncos remained composed and confident in their teamwork to fight back and made a 14-2 run of their own to send Christoval to the locker room with the 11-point loss. Davis was responsible for 11 of those fourth quarter points as the team looked to him to put points on the board.

“Coach Hudson got on us in the huddle before the fourth quarter,” Davis said. “That motivated us.”

Davis finished with 21 points that consisted of a 6-0 run on his own in the final period. Two jumpers and a layup preceded a huge alley oop from D’Costa that rocked the house. Penigar joined Davis in double figures with 19 that included two from behind the arc and hitting three of four from the bonus line. Defensively, the Broncos were strong and took advantage of steals to put points on the board. Herndon put in nine, D’Costa had six, and Smith helped with five.

When asked about the pressure of returning to state, head coach Boston Hudson stated that they tried not to talk about San Antonio.

“In the back of everyone’s mind we know the pressure to get back to state is there,” he said. “We’ve been ranked up there all year, we had most of our guys back, so we’re expected to be here. I’m proud of how we stayed composed and closed this game out.”

The Broncos will go head-to-head with LaPoynor in the opening round at the State Tournament playing at 10:00 am on Friday morning. The championship game will be held on Saturday at 1:30.