Broncos mount comeback, defeat Chewelah 25-18

RITZVILLE – Late in the fourth quarter on homecoming night, the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague/Washtucna/Harrington Broncos saw themselves with the ball, down 18-17 to the Chewelah Cougars.

The ensuing 11-play, 97-yard drive ended with Bronco quarterback Chase Galbreath diving into the end zone, where the home team eventually earned a 25-18 comeback victory.

“It’s always good to win on homecoming,” Broncos head coach Brendan Bermea said.

The Broncos went for two after Galbreath’s score, with running back Brody Boness crossing the plane for a seven-point lead.

“We were in our strong set, and I was thinking I’m getting into that end zone no matter what – even if I have to jump in,” Boness said. “I was not going to let anyone stop me on that one.”

The final offensive drive for the Broncos saw the strong rushing attack at its peak, complemented by a 38-yard reception by tight end Hunter Dinkins up the seam to set up the Broncos in the red zone.

“Well, we should run the damn ball more!” Bermea ecstatically said of the performances of running backs Brock Kinch and Boness. “They are as tough as you can get, they wear people down, and in the second half, just right off the bat, we got a big (run). We just had to keep on grinding.”

The Cougars got the ball back with just under a minute remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Broncos' defense made a stop when defensive back Jayce Kelly intercepted his third pass of the night on a deep shot down the middle of the field.

“I knew I needed to fix something, throughout the week I knew I needed to get those extra steps on (receivers),” Kelly said. “Play the ball, not the guy. Helped me out to get those three.”

Kelly’s other two interceptions came in the first half, with the first of which turned into the first touchdown of the game for the Broncos where Kinch ran into the end zone from six yards out for a 7-6 lead.

“He’s doing a lot for us,” Bermea said of Kelly’s performance Friday night. “He’s running the back end of our defense and taking care of things. He’s developing into a great guy, a great leader.”

After the Cougars took a 12-7 lead in the first half, the Broncos got the ball back with 3 minutes remaining in the second quarter. After getting into the red zone, the drive stalled and freshman kicker Ledger Kelly, brother of Jayce, trotted on the field for a 26-yard kick. With the field goal good, the Broncos cut into the deficit, trailing 12-10 at the half.

“(Ledger Kelly) had to come in and kick, he made his first field goal tonight,” Bermea said. “ You look at the score, that’s what let us drive down there (at the end) and get up by seven.”

Kinch added his second score of the night on the third play out of halftime, running into the end zone from 64 yards out to take a 17-12 lead.

“That’s just who we are,” Bermea said of the run-heavy approach on Friday night. “We figured out we want to run the ball, we’re gonna be physical and finish off games. We finished strong tonight, and I’m really impressed with my guys.”

The Broncos ran the triple option on the first few offensive drives but slowly began to revert to the typical running style once Chewelah began to stop it.

“They covered the option pretty well, so we kind of had to go to our zone running,” Galbreath said. “Our lineman got it done, I was proud of our lineman to get that done.”

With the win, the Broncos improve to 5-1 and second place in the Northeast 2B league. They are back in action next week on the road at Reardan.

“(It feels) really good,” Galbreath said of the team’s 5-1 record. “Especially to win on senior night and homecoming night. It’s all very nice.”

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

Box score:

Broncos 0-10-7-8 25

Cougars 6-6-0-6 18