Broncos turn back Cardinals

KENNEWICK - Dylan Hartz threw for 230 yards and one touchdown, and returned an interception for another score to lead Lind-Ritzville-Sprague (LRS) to a 21-7 win over defending state champion Waitsburg-Prescott at Lampson Stadium in Kennewick Saturday.

The victory puts the Broncos (12-0) in the championship game against Morton-White Pass (12-0) Friday at 4 p.m. in the Tacoma Dome. It will be the first trip to a state final for LRS since beating DeSales for the 2B championship in 2004.

"It was a great win for the team," coach Greg Whitmore said. "The guys played hard on both sides of the ball ... got out to a 21-0 lead ... it was a good luxury to have."

LRS got on the board on a 7-yard Connor O'Neill run (kick failed) to take a 6-0 lead. The score was set up on the Broncos second drive of the first quarter when Hartz tossed a short screen pass to Cort Ruzicka who raced 59-yards down field and was tackled just short of the goal line.

Waitsburg-Prescott returned the ensuing kick to mid-field, but fumbled the pigskin on the Cardinals second snap. Hartz recovered the ball and promptly led the Broncos to their second score that was capped off on a 20- yard TD pass to Ruzicka. The 2-point conversion pass to Ruzicka was good and LRS stretched its lead to 14-0.

The Broncos made it 21-0 on the first play of Waitsburg-Prescott's next possession when Hartz, intercepted a Stirling Eastman pass and returned it 38 yards for a touchdown (PAT) with less than 30 seconds left in the first quarter.

The score held up through the third quarter of play as the stingy Bronco defense kept the Cardinals off the board for the first 36 minutes of action.

Waitsburg-Prescott finally hit pay dirt in the fourth quarter on a 13-yard TD pass from Eastman to Chance Leroue (PAT) to avoid the shutout.

Hartz finished the game with 230 passing yards on 18 attempts. O'Neill carried the rock 21 times for 96 yards, and Ruzicka led all receivers with 140 yards on six catches.

"Dylan played a great game. He's one of those kids who really rises to the occasion," Whitmore said. "Conner had a good game too. They were keying on him ... slowed him down a bit ... but couldn't stop him."

The win over the Cardinals was especially satisfying for the Broncos as Waitsburg-Prescott knocked LRS out of the state playoffs last year and went on to win the state championship.

"It wasn't necessarily a revenge game," Whitmore said. "It was just the last hurdle to get over to reach our goal of making it to the championship game."

This marks the first time Whitmore will coach the Broncos in the finals. He was the offensive coordinator for LRS when the team won the championship in 2004.

The Broncos look to cap off their undefeated season with a win over the Huskies Friday and bring home another state championship.

"Morton-White Pass lost to Waitsburg in the championship game last year, so it's not going to be an easy task," Whitmore said. "They are a hungry team with great athletes who like to pound the ball on the ground, so we're going to try and force them to throw the ball which they are not used to doing and hopefully it will work out for us."