Sports

The Hedley Owls amassed over 600 yards of total offense, and needed every yard of it, in their 46-40 overtime win against the Amarillo Holy Cross Mustangs last Friday night.

The ground game was the catalyst once again for the Owls, attributing for over 400 yards.

Coach Buddy Isbell said, “This was the best game our offensive line has played all year.  We needed them to play big for us and they did in a big way.”

The Hedley offensive line consists of Austin Adams, Seth Ruthardt, and Caden Farris.  Hedley running backs Chris Blackburn, Nicco Bennett, and Tanner Chambless benefited from the holes opened up by the line.  Blackburn finished the night with 250 yards rushing, while Bennett and Chambless combined for another 200.

The Hedley passing game found its wings as well. The Owls threw for nearly 250 yards, led by Seth Ruthardt’s 165 yards receiving and two TDs. Nicco Bennett added a couple of catches, including one for a touchdown as well.

Coach Adam Cline said, “This was the most balanced we have been offensively.  Early on we knew that to be successful we were going to have to complete some passes. We needed to step up to the plate and play well to win this week, and we did that.”

Defensively, the Owls found ways to make the plays when they were absolutely necessary.  The Owls forced three turnovers on the night, including a huge drive stopping fumble and recovery in overtime.  The Owl defense consists of Chris Blackburn, Tanner Chambless, Austin Adams, Seth Ruthardt, Nicco Bennett and Coltin Kingston while Bryan Evans, Brandon Evans, Kyle Lindsey, and David Bell all also played extensively on defense.

The Owls play the Guthrie Jaguars this Friday in Guthrie at 7:30 p.m.  The Junior High will precede the Owls varsity game.  Game time for them will be 5:00.

Clarendon College has hired two new head coaches to lead teams this year.

Chris Joblin has been named head baseball coach and Casey Kreger was named cross country head coach.

Joblin most recently served as assistant baseball coach at CC and was promoted to head coach after Mike Silva took a job in Galveston this summer.

“Coach Joblin has showed the character and knowledge of the game to be able to take over a highly competitive and successful Clarendon College Baseball program,” CC Athletic Director John Green said.  “He hit the ground running to finish up recruiting and taking over the last minute details in preparation for the upcoming season.”

Coach Joblin will be in his second year at Clarendon College, and his first as head coach. Joblin is a graduate of  University of Central Missouri and was with UCM for three seasons during which the Mules compiled a 143-45 record.  The team won the MIAA regular season title once, the MIAA Tournament once, appeared in the regional championship game three times, won one Regional Championship, and had a fourth place finish at the 2008 NCAA Division II World Series.

Prior to his time at UCM, Joblin played for two years at Lamar Community College where his team had a record of 94-27-1. Joblin helped the team to two Empire Conference Championships, two Region IX Tournament Championships, and two Western District Playoff appearances. Both years the Lopes finished in the top 15 of the final national ranking, 4th in 2005.

Joblin is from Eagle, ID, where he graduated from Eagle High School in 2003.

Casey Kreger begins his first year with Clarendon College.

“I am thrilled to have attracted this young outstanding cross country talent to Clarendon College,” Green said. “He has a wealth of knowledge and success in cross country.”

Kreger is a graduate on Cameron University with his Bachelor’s Degree and East Central University with his Master’s Degree is Sports Administration.

He has had a successful cross country career which includes being a graduate assistant coach at Cameron University last year and running cross country at Cameron from 2007-2010.

Previously Kreger ran cross country and track at Virginia Intermont College from 2005-2007, earning NAIA Cross Country Champions in 2005 and 2006 and NAIA All American Indoor Track in 2006 and 2007.

Kreger is a native of Richmond, VA.

Four members of the Clarendon College Bulldog Baseball team have been invited to participate with other top junior college players from New Mexico and Texas in the annual Fuddruckers Junior College All-Star Weekend.

Sophomores Alex Howe of Unanderra, Australia; Alberto Morales of Bronx, NY; Wigberto Navarez of Bayamon, PR; and Sam Ouellet of St. Eustache, Quebec, will take part in the games Sept. 30- Oct. 1 at Baylor Ballpark & Getterman Stadium in Waco, Texas.

The first of the four baseball games will begin at 3:35 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30 with a second game scheduled tentatively for 8 p.m. Baseball games will continue through Saturday, Oct. 1 at 11:15 a.m. and tentatively for 3:30 p.m.

Admission for adults will be $6 for a single day and $10 for a tournament pass. Student admission for college students and younger with a student ID will be $5 for a single day and $7 for a tournament pass. All tickets and passes are good for both stadiums.

The tournament is sponsored by Fuddruckers and the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce. For more information, please contact Blake Harris at (254) 757-5605 or bharris@wacochamber.com.

The Hedley Owls started slowly but eventually got rolling in a dominating 42-6 win over the Darrouzette Longhorns last Friday night. 

The Owls used three 100 yard runners to blow open what was a close game early while picking off 5 passes and recovering 2 fumbles to prevent the Longhorns from gaining traction. 

The Owls used a three headed monster at running back to amass over 300 yards on the ground.  Nicco Bennett, Chris Blackburn, and Tanner Chambless each ran for over 100 yards, and Coltin Kingston threw for 28 and a score to lead the Owls. Austin Adams led off the scoring with an 8-yard touchdown reception, but that was all the Owls could muster in the first quarter.  Nicco Bennett and Tanner Chambless found the endzone on long runs to extend the Owls lead to 22-0 at the break.  Hedley broke it open early in the 3rd with 3 quick scores, one from each back, and the route was on. 

Defensively the Owls played fantastically.  Coltin Kingston led the team with 19 tackles.  He also added an interception and a forced fumble.  Chris Blackburn had 14 tackles, and Nicco Bennett pitched in with 8 tackles, 3 interceptions and a fumble recovery.  Tanner Chambless had 8 tackles and a fumble recovery, and Bryan Evans added an interception and 2 tackles.

The Owls will travel to Amarillo for their next contest with the Holy Cross Mustangs on  Friday, September 23, at Glenwood Park at 7:30. 

Before a packed house in Bronco Stadium on Friday night, Clarendon High School took down a good 2A Tulia team, 16-8.  Their play gave the Broncos a huge Homecoming win and added confidence to the young team.

Despite giving up too many yards to penalties, the Broncos endured and controlled the Hornets with great defensive plays.  Clarendon, now 3-1 on the season, racked up 279 yards of total offense in the game.  Quarterback Chance McAnear and his receivers found a rhythm, and 229 of those years came through the air.   One pass struck pay dirt as McAnear hit Jerami Johnson for a 32-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.  Wes Williams added the two-point bonus to give the Broncos the lead and the eventual win.  The Broncos’ first score came in the first quarter when McAnear snuck into the end zone, and Diego Santos added the two-point conversion.  Neither team scored in the second half of play.

“We came out in the first quarter and set the tone,” head coach Gary Jack said.  “Jerami (Johnson) makes a big hit on the opening kickoff, and we were fired up.” 

Jack feels that the Broncos seemed to feel this game more. 

“There was more emotion in this game,” Jack said.  “We played with more intensity.”

There were a few missteps and lost opportunities to score, however, Jack feels great about the win.  Jack credited both the offense and defense for a strong game. 

“Our passing and defense really carried us through. Our secondary played really well.  Diego, Jonah Sell, Jerami, and Chance did a good job.  Rowdy Speed did a good job kicking off for us and Tres Hommel had a good game on defense.” 

Jack said Johnson and Trevor Cobb played well on both sides of the ball. 

“Our offensive line (the Pigg brothers, Nathan Dziedzic, and Speed) did a good job blocking for Chance so he could make some good passes and for our receivers to make good catches.  Nine different players caught passes in the game.”

“I was very pleased with the effort the guys gave Friday night.  We have to use that consistency in the next two weeks at home.  It is a tough stretch and we will be tested to the max.”

The Broncos will take on Wellington at home Friday, September 23, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Clarendon College freshman volleyball player Katie Gillmore was named the Division I Player of the Week by the National Junior College Athletic Association today.

Gillmore is an Outside Hitter from Bushland and graduated from Bushland High School. Gillmore (5’ 10”) was the main source of offense last week for the Bulldogs who went 1-1 in two close matches. Despite falling to New Mexico Military Institute in four sets, Gillmore threw down 26 kills on 57 attempts. Defensively, the freshman tallied eight digs. In a five set victory over Ranger College (Texas), the freshman recorded a double-double with 27 kills and 15 digs. This week, Gillmore will lead Clarendon into matches against Western Texas College, Trinidad State JC (Colo.) and Adams State JV.

The Lady Bulldogs play tonight at home @ 7:00pm vs Western Texas in a big conference match

Melaynie Domenech (Monroe College, N.Y.) and Tiffany McClain (Eastfield College, Texas) were named NJCAA Volleyball Players of the Week for Divisions II and III respectively.

The Broncos founds themselves in a tough game of tug of war in Wheeler Friday night when they took on the Mustangs. And despite the give and take, the Broncos came out on top at 13-12.

Wheeler struck first in the first quarter but missed their extra point. The Broncos answered right back when Charleston Harris made good on a four-yard run to tie the game. After a dry second and third quarter, the Broncos hit pay dirt in the final period when quarterback Chance McAnear hit Trevor Cobb with a 37-yard touchdown pass, and Tyler Burch added the bonus.

Wheeler scored one more time to narrow the gap and then threatened to score in the last few seconds of the game, but the Broncos were able to hold them off and get the big win.

“It was a dog fight,” head coach Gary Jack said. “We had a few mistakes early, and
they (Wheeler) got fired up. It was a tough game, but our guys played well.”
The Broncos racked up 278 yards of total offense to only 170 for the Mustangs. The majority of Clarendon’s yards came through the air, but their running game was on target as well.

“Trevor Cobb had a good game,” Jack said. “He made some great catches for us on offense but also made a lot of tackles on defense. Jacob and Jayson Pigg played good, and Diego Santos had a good defensive game.”

Jack also gave credit to Wes Williams and Tres Hommel for playing well.
The Broncos will face Tulia this week in their Homecoming game at Bronco Stadium. Jack knows the next three games at home will be tough.

“We had too many mistakes against Wheeler and we know we need to clean up some things. We have got to get more consistent. We have seen several good things, but we need to improve in several areas, too.”

The young Bronco team is gaining confidence each week, and Jack knows consistency is key; especially for those players who do not have a lot of Friday night experience.
“We are still encouraged,” Jack said.

The Broncos will take on Tulia at home Friday night in their Homecoming game beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Bronco Stadium.