Broncos beat Nighthawks

RITZVILLE - Connor O'Neill ran for 60 yards and three touchdowns, and the Broncos defense held Tekoa-Oaksdale scoreless for three quarters as Lind-Ritzville-Sprague (LRS) rolled to a 42-14 home win over the Nighthawks Friday.

"The kids played really well," coach Greg Whitmore said. "You don't really expect a lopsided game like this in the playoffs ... you just hope your team is prepared well and you get a win and move on."

The Broncos indeed were focused at the task at hand as LRS found little resistance from Tekoa-Oaksdale, scoring at will and limiting the Nighthawks to two TDs, all of which came in the fourth quarter of play.

"Our defense has only given up 15 points in the first half all year," Whitmore said. "And our offense keeps us in it or gives us a lead at halftime."

Cort Ruzicka got the Broncos prolific scoring offense rolling on a 37-yard run (kick failed) to put LRS up 6-0.

It was the only points hung on the board in the first quarter of action.

Three unanswered O'Neill TDs and a Tyler Frederick 34-yard interception return (Matt Leffell kick) pushed the score to 35-0 and blew the game wide open for the Broncos.

O'Neill's first touchdown came on a 5-yard run (O'Neill run) to increase the Broncos lead to 14-0.

O'Neill hit pay dirt a second time from 36-yards out (Dylan Hartz run), and again on a 1-yard dash (pass failed) to round out the first half scoring. A Hartz 50-yard run in the third quarter (Leffel kick) made it 42-0 and the rout was on.

The Nighthawks scored twice in the final 12 minutes of play to make the game respectable, 42-14.

"The two scores and most of their yardage came after we put in our sub's," Whitmore said. "We were happy to get out of the game without any injuries and move on to the next round."

The win over Tekoa-Oaksdale puts the Broncos in a quarterfinal match up with the DeSales Fighting Irish.

"They have a good defense and a very athletic quarterback and wide receiver," Whitmore said. "We haven't faced a team that can throw as well as DeSales, so this will be a good challenge for us."

The time and date of the game against DeSales has yet to be determined.

But Whitmore said it will be played in Spokane Friday or Saturday.