Sports

By Sandy Anderberg

The Lady Broncos played hard against the Highland Park Lady Hornets but struggled to get anything going in their 28-39 loss.

Defense was the ladies’ strong point in the game, but they could not find their rhythm on the opposite end of the court.

Hannah Howard and Briley Chadwick led the ladies on the scoreboard with seven points each. Briana Butler helped with six, Berkeley Alexander put in four, Jensen Hatley had two, and Sterling King added one.

“Our scoring was balanced, but we are looking for all nine girls to score to push our numbers up,” coach Kalen Grahn said.

“They played hard throughout the game, we just need to get more scoring.”

Grahn thought the Lady Broncos did a good job on the defensive side.

“Defensively, the girls played well,” Grahn said. “We struggled in the first quarter shutting them down, but the rest of the way we played well.”

The Lady Broncos will play River Road at home Tuesday, December 1, at 6:30 p.m. and play in the Claude Tournament December 3-5.

 

By Sandy Anderberg

Five Broncos finished in double figures in their season opener on the road at Highland Park last Friday night.

Senior Junior Ceniceros led the Broncos on the scoreboard with 14 points, and Chance Lockhart and Bryce Grahn finished with 11 each. Colt Wood and Damarjae Cortez each finished with 10 points in the win.

According to coach Brandt Lockhart, the Broncos played hard in their first outing.

“I thought we played well in our first game,” he said. “We did a good job on defense, but we still need to improve. The only negative we had in the game was too many turnovers.”

The Broncos jumped on the Hornets early going up by 31 points in the first half of play. The Bronco defense played like a well-oiled machine holding HP to one point in the second quarter and one point in the third.

Freshman Bear Smith finished the game with six points but made a great showing under the basket grabbing 11 rebounds. Lockhart and Wood helped with eight rebounds each. Wood also had five assists and three steals, while Lockhart had four steals.

Grahn helped with four assists. Finishing out the scoring was Marshal Johnson with four points and Keandre Cortez with three. As a team, the Broncos shot 75 percent from the bonus line.

The Broncos will take on River Road at home December 1 beginning at 8:00 p.m.

 

By Sandy Anderberg

The 2015-16 Lady Broncos took the court for the first time this season against Follett on the road and Claude at home.

Despite the losses, the ladies are determined to regroup and continue working hard to put some wins together. They were defeated 29-63 at Follett and 32-67 at home against Claude.

Briana Butler led the Lady Broncos in the Follett game with nine points, and Shaelyn Owiti followed up with five. The ladies played catch up most of the game after a slow start, but began to develop a rhythm before half time.

Jensen Hatley and Sterling King each nailed a three-pointer, and Briley Chadwick and Berkeley Alexander also added three. Hannah Howard had two, and Hannah Hommel put in one.

Once again Butler led the ladies on the scoreboard in the Claude game with 12 points. Again, the Lady Broncos suffered a slow first half, but came back in the fourth quarter with thirteen team points. Chadwick put in six, Howard had five, and Owiti helped with four. Hatley and Alexander had two and Amelia Weatherton put in one free throw.

“We opened up with two very good basketball teams,” coach Kalen Grahn said. “The girls are working hard to find our identity. Our effort has been good. We just need to keep working to better ourselves.”

The Lady Broncos will travel to Highland Park November 20 and go to Perryton on November 24 with game times at 6:00 p.m.

 

By Sandy Anderberg

Clarendon High School junior runner Bryce Grahn conquered the horrendous conditions in Round Rock last weekend at the State Cross Country Meet and won sixth place out of 150 of the state’s best runners.

Grahn’s time was 19:00.60 for the 5K race.

Grahn has been running great all year and was named the District Champion this season. He ran fifth place at the Regional Meet held in Lubbock where he earned the right to run in the state meet.

The mud was so deep and slick that Grahn fought falling down throughout the 5K race. His perseverance and determination was credited with getting him over the course and running through standing water after days of rain.

Grahn will be back again for one more year and is looking forward to running with a team in next year’s meet

 

By Sandy Anderberg

The Broncos took the field in Bronco Stadium Friday night knowing they had the ability and determination to defeat the Cyclones while spoiling their run at a tie for first place in the District contest.

With numerous emotions flowing, the Broncos were able to use an extra point kick to give them the needed points to win the game at 19-18. And a last second interception in the end zone by senior Chesson Sims helped to secure the Broncos’ win over their long-time rival.

“This was a good way to finish,” head coach Gary Jack said. “And it was even more special because it was Memphis. Our win knocked them down to third place (in the race for the number one seed).”

According to Jack, the Broncos struck early scoring two touchdowns in the first quarter of play.

“We played good for the most part,” Jack said. “Our offense got on them early and our defense did a good job of holding them in the first half.”

The Broncos scored all 19 of their points in the first half of play with senior quarterback Bryce Hatley crossing the goal line twice and firing a strike to Sims for a 25-yard score in the second quarter. Every extra point attempt had failed until the Sims TD and Richard Anderson nailed a kick straight through the uprights, which would later be the advantage they needed.

Nick Shadle led the Broncos on defense with 13 tackles and Justin Christopher racked up 12. Daquawne Oliver and Taylon Knorpp each had 11 tackles and one sack and Cobb and Clay Koetting had seven tackles. Damarjae Cortez hustled with six tackles, and Hatley had five. Junior Ceniceros, Cooper Bilbrey, and Sims each had four with Sims adding a sack and Keandre Cortez had one interception. The Bronco seniors shined Friday night as they played their last game wrapped in maroon in Bronco Stadium.

“It was a good night for our seniors,” Jack said. “Chesson had a good game. He had a touchdown catch and made a big interception for us at the end. Bryce threw and ran well for us. Caleb Cobb and Junior Ceniceros had some good catches, too. Richard was able to kick our extra point. Defensively, Blaine Ellis, Ray Jaramillo did a good job on special teams and Cooper Bilbrey has had a good year for us. I was excited for them.”

There were also three senior trainers on the field every night. Alysse Simpson, Kendra Davis, and Kelsey McAnear were also part of the team and have worked hard this season.The Broncos had close games all year while facing harsh diversity. The seniors will be missed, but Jack knows next year is another year.

“We’ve seen a lot of bright spots,” Jack said. “We have a good bunch of kids coming back next year. Our JV was 6-2 this year. They had a good year.”

The Broncos finished their season 5-5.

 

By Sandy Anderberg

The Broncos knew the game against Crosbyton would be a tough one. All of their games since the Lockney game where teammate Riley Shadle was injured have been tough for the Broncos. But, despite the 20-53 loss, the Broncos fought hard and never quit in the contest. The Broncos are 3-5 overall and 0-3 in District play.

“They are a tough team,” head coach Gary Jack said. “We played decent, but we got behind early in the first quarter. We were able to come back and got it down to the 20-yard line and fumbled. That let the air out of us, and they took off. They had 16 seniors on their team and were pretty experienced and mature (in their play).”

The Broncos kept up the battle, and in the third quarter Keandre Cortez found the end zone twice. Once on a 50-yard run and another from 15 yards out. Senior Caleb Cobb earned the other Bronco score. Cortez racked up 98 yards rushing, and Cobb had 91.

“Defensively, they were hard to stop,” Jack said. “But several players did well. Daquawne Oliver did well with 14 tackles and one sack, and Clay Koetting had 10 tackles. Nick Shadle had nine, Bryce Grahn and Cobb had seven each, and Chesson Sims had six tackles.”

Offensively, the Broncos played hard as well.

“Bryce Hatley through the ball well,” Jack said. “And Junior Ceniceros, Cortez, Grahn, and Sims caught some good passes for us. Cobb and Cortez ran the ball well. We had over 300 total yards in the game.”

The Broncos have two District games left. This Friday night, October 30, they will travel to Ralls.

“We have Ralls and Memphis left,” Jack said. “We can play with them; we need to finish strong.”

The Clarendon-Ralls game will begin at 7:00 p.m. at Ralls.

 

By Sandy Anderberg

The Broncos played a solid game against a good Quanah team Friday night at home, but a couple of miscues led to a 13-14 loss.

The Broncos battled hard in the evenly matched game but could not convert the extra point after Keandre Cortez ran it in from one yard out in the second quarter of play. It was also Cortez who gave the Broncos their first six points in the opening quarter on a 23-yard run with Clay Koetting adding the bonus kick.

The Broncos trailed the Indians in total yards for the night with 229 and 384 for Quanah. Quarterback Bryce Hatley was five for seven passing for 88 yards with one interception. But according to head coach Gary Jack, the Broncos had opportunities to best the ranked team.

“It was a good game against a good team,” Jack said. “They were picked to win by 27 points, and we had chances to beat them.”

The Broncos were inside the red zone, but a penalty moved them back. The following play, the Broncos had a miscue on offense, which put them back even farther. They were unable to make up the lost yardage and regain their scoring position.

“We played a solid game on both sides of the ball,” Jack said. “That’s two games we’ve came up short and lost those two by only four points total. It was two games we could have won.”

Jack thought the Broncos did a good job defensively, with Caleb Cobb racking up 12 tackles, Taylon Knorpp nine tackles and one sack, and Justin Christopher with six tackles and two sacks. He also noted Daquawne Oliver, Damarjae Cortez, and Clay Koetting with playing a solid game.

“Offensively, Keandre had 134 total yards with two touchdowns,” Jack said. “It was a big night for him. Junior Ceniceros caught five passes and our line blocked well all night.”

It was a tough loss for the Broncos and they will know they will have another battle this Friday night in Crosbyton.

“It will be a tough game again,” Jack said. “We need to play well. But I am proud of our kids for the way they came out and played. They did an exceptional job and executed well. It was a tough week of practice with everything going on, but the kids were focused. The coaches did a good job of getting ready. We would have loved to had pulled this game out.”

The Broncos will be on the road Friday, October 23, in another District match up with Crosbyton and play at 7:00 p.m.

 

Hedley Lady Owls Cross Country team is headed to the Regional Cross Country meet in Lubbock following Monday’s meet in Groom.

The Lady Owls were the District Runner Up behind the Valley Patriots.

“They all did a great job, and I am very proud of them.” said Coach Alston.

Hedley’s Bailey Downing medals with 2nd at a time of 14:16. Kealee Lambert also medaled in 4th place with 14:53.

Other runners for Hedley were; Marie Frankson, 10th with 15:42; Jayden Lambert, 11th with 15:59; Brittany Downing, 14th at 16:29; and Misti Scott, 17th at 18:51.

Hedley will compete October 26 at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock.

 

By Sandy Anderberg

It was an emotional second half for the Broncos as junior Riley Shadle took a bad hit in the third quarter. They were still holding their own, but Lockney opened up a 65-yard run to take the lead and the win at 18-15.

“We played good,” head coach Gary Jack said. “We just didn’t score when we had the opportunities. We moved the ball well and had over 300 yards, but turnovers hurt us.”

The Longhorns capitalized on those turnovers and held the three-point edge at the buzzer, but racked up less than 200 total yards against the Broncos.

“It was a good effort,” Jack said. “But we relaxed on one play.”

Several Broncos stepped up to play positions when some of the starters were out. Jack felt everyone did a good job and under the circumstances it was a tough loss.

“It was our first District game and it was tough to lose,” he said. “We played extremely well on both sides of the ball, but sputtered when we got close.”

The Broncos hope to hear good news about Shadle and regroup for this week’s game with Quanah.

They Broncos will play Quanah at home on Friday, October 16, at 7:00 p.m.

 

By Sandy Anderberg

The Clarendon Broncos took the field before a huge Homecoming crowd as they squared off against Booker Friday night in Bronco Stadium, defeating them, 22-20.

The Broncos set the tempo of the game in the first minute and fifteen seconds as they took it down and put eight points on the board to take the opening lead. Keandre Cortez scored on a one-yard run and then added the two-point bonus to put eight points on the board.

Clarendon put six more point on the board when Caleb Cobb grabbed a four-yard pass from quarterback Bryce Hatley. The extra point failed, but they came back to add another touchdown when Hatley threw a five-yard strike to Junior Ceniceros and Cortez added the bonus. The Broncos led 22-7 at the break.

“It was a big win for us,” head coach Gary Jack said. “We were able to hold on in the last minutes and get the win. Our defense played good the first three quarters, and offence did well most of the first half. We had opportunities to put more points on the board, but we didn’t get into the end zone.”

After a scoreless third quarter, the Kiowas struck back to put seven points on the board to narrow the gap. When the Broncos fumbled at the five-minute mark, the Kiowas drove down and scored on a 65-yard pass. The two-point spread caused Booker to go for two on the conversion, but the Broncos held them out of the end zone and hung on to the two-point lead. From there they only had to hold on for three minutes to get the two-point win.

Booker fumbled three times in the game and the Broncos were able to recover all three fumbles. They also intercepted two passes. The Broncos had 167 yards rushing, while Booker only had 123 yards.

“It was a solid game,” Jack said. “Booker was healthy for the first time this season and they have some good skilled kids. They got going in the second half, but our defense did a good job on the two-point conversion that would have tied the game. Then our offense made a couple of first downs and were able to kill the clock to get the win.”

Jack noted that several players had solid games on both sides of the ball.

“Chesson Sims had a big game for us,” Jack said. “He got five passes for 83 yards, had six tackles on defense and caught an interception. Daquawne Oliver moved up from the JV and had a big game for us, also, with 12 tackles, a sack, and caused turnovers.”

Jack also other Broncos for good play. Caleb Cobb had nine tackles, two caused turnovers; Clint Franks had seven tackles, one sack, and caused a fumble; Justin Christopher had four tackles and a recovered fumble; Taylon Knorpp had three tackles and recovered a fumble; Nick Shadle had six tackles; Bryce Hatley had five tackles and recovered a fumble; Andy Davis had six tackles and a sack, and Bryce Grahn had five tackles and one interception.

“We will start District on Friday, October 9,” Jack said. “There will be three tough games right in a row. We hope to get some nicks and bruises healed up in our open week and get ready for District.”

The Broncos have an open Friday on October 2, but will travel to Lockney on October 9 to begin District play at 7:00 p.m.