Sports

The bottom of the fifth was just what the Broncos needed to put the finishing touches on their 11-1 win over Fritch at home on Saturday. 

The Broncos were well on their way to a win, but left no doubt in the fifth as they closed it out.  According to coach Brad Elam, the Broncos played a pretty good game, starting out slowly, but finishing big.

“We scored one (run) in the first inning when Troy Chambless singled in Colter Goolsby,” Elam said.  “David Roberts scored one in the second, and Brayden Phillips drove in Josh Krumwiede in the fourth.” 

Then came the big guns as Johnny Gaines and Chambless started things off with homeruns. Roberts then drove in a run when he walked with the bases loaded scoring Forest Yelverton. Bradley Watson drove in Krumwiede and Brady Miller. Goolsby fired one off to allow Phillips to score to end the inning.

“Chambless and Goolsby pitched five good innings,” Elam said.  “And we played well on defense.”

The Broncos will play River Road at home Friday, April 16, beginning at 4:30 p.m. and will play a District game at home Saturday, April 17, against Quanah at 1:00 p.m.  They will travel to Memphis Tuesday, April 20.

The Lady Broncos defeat WT High

Nine runs in the sixth inning catapulted the Lady Broncos to a big win over West Texas High at home last Tuesday night.  When the sixth inning started, the ladies were only up by one run, but when it ended they had accumulated a 10-point advantage.

Junior hurler Danielle Ford was on the mound and threw 10 strikeouts. Dominique Mason was behind the plate. 

Offensively, the Lady Broncos hit the ball well, but according to head coach Gary Jack, everything the ladies hit went right at somebody. 

“We were busting the ball hard, but they were able to get to them,” Jack said.  “We finally got things going when Jentry (Shadle) hit a homerun with runners on base.  It was a close game until the sixth when it really cut loose.” 

The Lady Broncos batted around in the sixth with 13 players hitting the ball and scoring.  Jack gave credit to several players for good hits.  Jentry Shadle had the homerun, and Emily Clark came up with a double.  Elissa Holland, Erin Moore, Trevela Dronzek Brandi Mays, Caitlyn Christopher, and Dominique Mason all hit the ball well.

“We just played a solid game,” Jack said.

Right now the Lady Broncos are 6-0 in District play with just a few regular season games left and as of last week, they are ranked number nine in the state.

The ladies will play McLean at home Saturday, April 17, at home beginning at 4:00 p.m.  They will travel to Follett Tuesday, April 20.

The junior varsity squad also defeated West Texas, 11-1, last week.

Two Amarillo contractors are lucky to be alive after succumbing to toxic fumes in a rural Donley County location last week.

Sheriff Butch Blackburn said Ricky Lovato and his son, Jerry Wayne Lavato, were working at Melvin Edes place east of Clarendon last Tuesday, March 30, and did not return home when they were expected. Worried relatives called the sheriff’s office, and
Deputy Vincent Morasco was dispatched to the worksite.

Upon arrival, Morasco found the two men unconscious in the basement where they had been spraying lacquer – a highly flammable substance that emits toxic fumes. The deputy immediately called for EMS and for the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department’s Rescue Squad and also instructed the dispatcher to launch two helicopters.

Morasco, Chancey Cruce, and Deputy Kelly Hill were able to get the younger Lovato out
of the building, and volunteer firemen suited up and rescued the father. CPR had to be performed on one of the subjects.

Jerry Wayne Lovato was transported by Associated Ambulance Authority and then by Lifestar to Amarillo, and Ricky Lovato was transported by ambulance and then by AeroCare to Lubbock.

“Due to the swift work of deputies and the fire department, it is believed both men will make a full recovery,” Sheriff Blackburn said. “There’s no doubt they would not have survived if the deputy hand not checked on them. The deputies, firemen, and EMS need to be commended greatly for a job well done.”

Thirteen huge runs in the second proved to be the inning that sealed Quanah’s fate as the Broncos blasted them 19-0 in five innings Monday night on the road with Troy Chambless was on the mound.  The Broncos went to 5-1 overall and perfect in District play at 3-0.

The Broncos jumped out to an early advantage in the first inning when they scored three unanswered runs.  But they shocked their opponent in the second inning when they crossed home plate thirteen times.  They added another two runs in the fourth and fifth.

“We played a really good all around game,” coach Brad Elam said.  “Stephino McCampbell and Johnny Gaines both made outstanding defensive plays and Brayden Phillips threw out another base stealer.  He has thrown out all four that have tried (to steal a base).” 

On the offensive side, the Broncos were unstoppable. 
“Troy Chambless and Bradley Watson pitched giving up only three hits and three walks,” Elam said.

 He also noted that Phillips and Watson was on base four times and scored three runs while Gaines had a big day at the plate going five for five with two doubles and two homeruns.  He also scored four runs and drove in eight runs.  David Roberts reached base all five times at bat, which included a double and two bases for getting hit by a pitch. Brady Miller scored two runs and Chambless reached base all five times with three of those coming from walks.

On Friday, the Broncos added another mark in the win column with a 4-1 dusting of the Memphis Cyclones.  Johnny Gaines was on the mound and threw five good innings while striking out eight hitters and allowing only one unearned run.  Troy Chambless relieved Gaines and close the door in the sixth and seventh innings.

The Broncos played hard and knew the importance of the outcome. 
“We knew going into the game it was going to be a tough one, but we passed our first big test,” Elam said.  “We jumped on the board first scoring three runs in the fourth inning.” 

Watson got things going with a solid single to center field and was able to advance to third on a bad throw from the pitcher. Gaines would eventually knock him in and he scored on a close play at the plate.  Gaines earned the next score and David Roberts scored on a Brady Miller single.

“Memphis was able to get a run back in the next inning, but Brayden Phillips was able to drive home Justin Shillings for the fourth run in the bottom of the fifth,” Elam said. “We were able to score just enough runs to win.  Our pitching was good again and (our) defense made plays.”

The Lady Broncos added to their winning record (13-4,1-0) over the break with wins over Perryton and River Road.  The ladies defeated Perryton last Thursday at 7-5. 

According to head coach Gary Jack, the ladies were ahead 7-0 at one point in the game.  “We were ahead 7-0 at one time, and I thought we would go ahead and end it in five innings,” he said.   “But they were able to come back on us.”

Jack went on to say that the Lady Broncos played well enough to win, but felt they could tell they had been off a few days. 

Danielle Ford hit her third over-the-fence home run in a row that helped the ladies to their win. Defensively, the ladies stayed focused. 

“Our infield played pretty solid,” Jack said. “Trevela Dronzek, Caitlyn Christopher, and Brandi Mays did a good job behind Danielle’s pitching.  And Dominique Mason did a good job at catcher.”

The ladies defeated River Road 12-8 on Friday. 

“We were behind at first,” Jack said.  “But our hitting was better and that helped us get the win.  We trailed most of the game, and it was 7-8 late in the game, and we were able to fight through it and get the win.  Jency Burton came in to pitch for us in the second inning and did a good job getting the win.”

Ford had yet another over-the-fence home run and Dronzek, Christopher, and Mays added doubles with hits to the fence.

“We were able to make some things happen at the end,” Jack said.  “Emily Clark played well for us as did several other players. We’ll keep working and get a little better.”

The Lady Broncos will continue their district schedule as they travel to McLean Friday, March 26, beginning at 4:00 p.m.

The Broncos played their last regular game of the season at Bronco Stadium Friday night, and it was a contest that was much closer than the score revealed.

Clarendon lost to the Sky Rockets 7-28, but not before giving Wellington a huge test. Despite the loss, the Broncos have earned a spot in the playoffs and will play in the Bi-District game against Nazareth Friday, November 13 in Amarillo at Highland Park High School at 7:30 pm as the home team.

The Broncos were threatening to strike first deep in scoring range but threw an interception that Wellington ran back 99 yards for the first score of the game. Both teams remained scoreless in the second quarter, and the Rockets held the advantage going into the break.

The second score came early in the third quarter for Wellington, but the Broncos answered right back when Mike Crump and Johnny Gaines hooked up for six that went 44 yards. Coby Braughton added the bonus kick.

That would be the only score for the Broncos, but they racked up 184 total yards in the game. Rushing yards accounted for 140 of those yards, which equaled what the Rockets did with 145 yards rushing.

“We outplayed them,” head coach Gary Jack said. “We played right with them and caught them off guard. I was very pleased with their effort and performance.”

Minus a couple of mistakes and a few breaks to go the Broncos’ way, it would have been a different game.

“We told the guys we needed to take the fight to them,” Jack said. “We were ready to go. We just needed a couple key breaks to get the extra momentum going.”

Wellington was able to capitalize on a couple of mistakes made by the Broncos and gain the advantage on the scoreboard. Despite the loss, the guys played solid on both sides of the ball. Stephino McCampbell had a good game defensively and so did Brayden Phillips who grabbed a crucial interception for the Broncos and also stepped in for injured quarterback Johnny Gaines.

Gaines injury is healing and he did see some playing time and Jack feels he’ll be 100 percent for next week’s game with Naz.

“Johnny adds a lot to our game and having him in the game helps to give us that extra momentum,” Jack said.

Also playing tough defense according to Jack was Bradley Watson, Chris Crump, Mike Crump, Tre Brown, Lee Tolbert, and Forrest Yelverton. The Crump boys had 17 tackles between them, and Chris also got a sack on the QB. Brown had six tackles and a sack and Lee Tolbert had a solid game according to Jack. Freshman Forrest Yelverton played the entire game both ways and made six tackles.

The Broncos will be preparing all week for their Bi-District game with Nazareth and Jack knows they will be ready to go.

“We’re ready for them,” Jack said. “It’s a new season for us, and this (the playoffs) is all that matters. It will be a battle for us, because they are big. We scrimmaged them earlier in the year, and it was pretty even. They will play hard, and we are going to gear up and get ready to go.”

Make plans to support the Broncos at Highland Park, Friday, November 13, at 7:30 p.m. for the Broncos’ first playoff game with the Swifts.