Sports

“Fantastic.”

That is the word Clarendon baseball coach Brad Elam used when he described how the Broncos’ pitchers led the way to the championship in the Childress Tournament over the weekend. The Broncos took on four tough teams and brought home the gold.

They went up against Floydada in the first round and breezed to an 11-1 win. The Whirlwinds only managed one run, which they scored in the first inning on a Bronco error.

Eastin Goodpasture got the Broncos on the board in the second inning with a double for one run and Josh Cobb was able to knock in another. The Broncos added four runs in the fourth when Noab Elam, Kade Hunsaker, and Payton Havens all contributing. As a team, the Broncos had nine hits and Havens led the way with three. Elam had three stolen bases in the game as the team posted nine.

Hunsaker was on the plate for the Broncos and got the win. He had one hit and struck out seven in five innings.
The Broncos easily shut out district foe Wellington 13-0 in the second round. They then went up against 4A Borger and eased by them 4-3. The Broncos took on the host team, who are 3A, in the championship game and handled them at 4-2 to get the win.

“(I am) really proud of how the boys battled these bigger schools,” Elam said. “We were able to close them out with the winning runs at the plate. Our pitching staff was fantastic the entire tournament, all throwing complete games. Kade Hunsaker, Nathan Shadle, Josh Cobb, and Andy Davis. We only gave up six runs in four games. Pitching was great, defense was great, and we had some timely hitting.”

The Broncos will play Claude on Friday, March 9, at home beginning at 4:00 p.m. They will travel to San Jacinto on March 15. On March 16, they will play Kress at home beginning at 1:00 p.m.

The Clarendon Broncos wrapped up regular season play last week and are headed to post-season play as they ride the momentum they have gained. Their last win came in Wheeler last week with a big win at 50-46.

The game began evenly and stayed close throughout as both teams executed well offensively. The Mustangs were up by one after the first quarter, but the Broncos were able to go up by four after the break.

Both teams put eight points on the board in the final eight minutes, which was enough to get the Broncos the win.

The Broncos have been nailing the three-pointers and finished with a total of eight against Wheeler. Damarjae Cortez hit four, and Noab Elam put down two. Collin Butler and Preston Elam made good on one three-pointer each. The Broncos also shot 75 percent from the bonus line, which made a big difference in the game. Cortez and Bear Smith finished in double figures with Cortez putting in 16 and Smith adding 14 to lead the Broncos on the scoreboard. Colt Wood put in seven, Noab Elam had six, Butler added four, and P. Elam helped with three.

“It was good to go on the road and finish with a win,” coach Blake Nichols said. “We have won six in a row and momentum heading into the playoffs is always a good thing. I like where we are, and hopefully we can put together a few more wins and make a good showing in the playoffs.”

Update: The Broncos fell to Stratford Tuesday night in the Bi-District Championship game, 43-52.

By Sandy Anderberg

The Clarendon Broncos earned two big wins last week and continued in the hunt for post-season play.

The first playoff game will be held Tuesday, Feb. 20, at 6:30 p.m. at Caprock High School in Amarillo.  Clarendon will face Stratford for the Bi-District title.

They first easily defeated Claude 64-41 on Tuesday. After a slow shooting first quarter, the Broncos turned up the heat on the Mustangs and took a commanding lead. They were able to control the momentum and the boards in the final half of play and get the 23-point win.

Damarjae Cortez was the top scorer with 21 points, Bear Smith added 12, and Justin Christopher put in 10. Noab Elam crushed three three-pointers for nine, Colt Wood had five, and Caton Grahn had three. Preston Elam helped with two, and Daquawne Oliver and Isaac Dunham put in one each.

“It wasn’t pretty at times, but any win this time of year is a good win,” coach Blake Nichols said. “We were a little flat after the big win against Panhandle and probable looking ahead to the Memphis game a little bit. As a Coach, I try to guard against those things, but both are understandable. I was proud we did what we had to do to win the game.”

On Friday, the Broncos pulled a big win out of the hat when they played Memphis at home. Memphis earned the win at the buzzer in the first round and the Broncos were able to get revenge for that loss. The Broncos scored 20 points in the final quarter to get the 63-60 win over the Cyclones.

The Broncos trailed by 13 points early in the game, and it was clear that the Cyclones held the momentum in the first half of play. By the break, the Broncos had worked their way back to only trail by 10 points. A great third quarter effort by the Broncos put them back in the game where they closed the gap on the Cyclones, only trailing by six.

That is where the Broncos dug down deep determined to get the win. They were able to take the lead with just a little bit of time on the clock and hold off Memphis for the win.

Cortez nailed four three-pointers, and Wood put in three of his own. N. Elam also hit two big shots to help get the Broncos back in the game, and P. Elam had one three-pointer. Three Broncos finished in double figures in the game. Wood posted 20 points, Cortez had 18, and Smith put in 14. N. Elam had six, P. Elam had three, and Christopher finished with two.

“This was a big win,” Nichols said. “I was proud of how we continued to hang in there and fight even after we got down by 13. Once we settled down after their hot start, I thought we played fairly well. We still have a few things we can improve on, and I’m excited about using the last game of the regular season to do that.”

The Clarendon Broncos had a stellar football season in 2017, and several players were rewarded for their excellence on the field by participating District coaches.

Junior Dalton Benson had an outstanding year and was awarded the Defensive Most Valuable Player. Justan Shadle (senior) won the Fighting Heart award, something he shared with four other players in the district.

Noab Elam was selected at the quarterback position, and senior running backs Daquawne Oliver and Damarjae Cortez made the All-District team. Fellow seniors Colt Wood and Andy Davis were named as a first team wide receiver and tight end, respectively.

Justin Christopher, another Bronco senior, was named as a first team center, and juniors Caton Grahn and Ryan Ward were named to the offensive line.

Christopher and Grahn were also named to the first team defensive line, and Davis made the defensive team as an outside linebacker. Oliver made the team as an inside linebacker, and junior Ryan McCleskey was named as a utility player.

Fellow junior Preston Elam was named to the defensive secondary team and was joined by Cortez.
Several players were also named to the Second All-District Team. P. Elam was named as a running back and Clayton White was named to the offensive line.

Payton Hicks was named to the defensive line, Nathan Shadle made the team as an inside linebacker, and Colt Wood was named for his job in the secondary.

By Sandy Anderberg, Clarendon Enterprise

Clarendon’s Noab Elam has been handing off the football to a great backfield all season, but last Friday night at Frenship High Elam threw with success and posted 281 total yards in the air making good on 7 of 14 passes for four touchdowns.

The win puts the Broncos in a battle against the Skyrockets of Wellington one more time this year Friday, December 8, in Childress at 7:00 p.m. in the State Quarterfinal game. Admission for Friday’s game in Childress is $6 for adults and $4 for students.

Friday’s game will be Clarendon’s first appearance at the state quarterfinal game since 1972.

All of the Broncos’ touchdowns last week and one two-point conversion came from Elam’s arm to three different players. Preston Elam was on the receiving side in the first quarter when he grabbed a 62-yard pass from his brother. Damarjae Cortez ran in for the bonus.

Colt Wood turned up the heat in the second quarter when he nabbed a 76-yard pass from Elam, and Cortez took it in for two. It was Wood again in the fourth quarter for 39 yards and Cortez to seal the win on a 70-yard pass from Elam. P. Elam caught the conversion pass for two.

“Our kids played great, and I am extremely proud of these guys,” head coach Clint Conkin said. “They just keep fighting and finding ways to win ball games.”

Wood caught three passes for 133 yards, P. Elam also caught three for 105 yards, and Cortez had one big pass from Elam for 70 yards. Clarendon had 68 yards rushing in the game.

“On offense our rushing attack was slowed down by Hamlin’s great defensive front, but our passing attack was great,” Conkin said.

Defensively, Caton Grahn and Dalton Benson were unstoppable. Grahn had 15 tackles and four quarterback sacks, and Benson followed suit with 13 tackles and two sacks. Justin Christopher racked up nine tackles and two sacks, and Cortez had seven tackles. Wood had five tackles with one interception, and Daquawne Oliver had five tackles and one sack. Clayton White had four tackles and one sack, and Andy Davis had four tackles and one sack. Zack Caison had thee tackles and also one sack.

“Our defense played great once again and swarmed them all night long,” Conkin said. “We had several guys with tackles.

A Pep Rally is scheduled for 3 p.m. this Friday in the Bronco Gym.

You can follow the quarterfinal action at facebook.com/TheEnterprise or on Twitter, @ClarendonTxNews.