Broncos place emphasis on health in 2024

RITZVILLE — One of the challenges the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos encountered in the 2023 season was staying healthy, with several key players missing time in what eventually led to a 5-5 campaign. This year, there’s an emphasis on the health aspect of the game, and it starts in practice.

“We’re trying to do better at load management,” head coach Brendan Bermea said. “We’ve got some guys that we’re probably not going to get off the field very much, but if you can make things easier for them in practice and manage that load – it's a bit more on that modern side with how people are thinking about sports. We want to stay healthier and with more energy throughout.” 

With starters picking up injuries and missing time, more and more players had to come off the sidelines and into the starting lineup. With 38 players turning out to play football this year, which Bermea said is the most LRS has had “in a while,” there’s more depth on the roster in 2024. Practices also begin with a “dynamic warm-up" designed to limit the wear and tear throughout a season. 

“That’s one of the things we learned last year – we didn’t have the depth to do that, but there were kids that maybe we should have given more chances to be ready when the opportunity arose,” Bermea said. “We’re trying to get better at that, that’s a big point of emphasis.” 

There are ways to create a physical team without hitting each other in practices, senior running back Brody Boness said.  

“We’re trying to be the most physical team that our opponents face, and that starts at practice,” he said. “The first three days, even without pads, we were trying to hit the (blocking pads) as hard as we can." 

Last year’s graduating class, made up of 10 seniors, left openings on both the offensive and defensive lines, with both tackles and defensive ends being filled in by new players. Beyond the trenches, the Broncos will also fill other roles at quarterback, linebacker and running back behind Boness with first-team all-leaguer Brock Kinch graduating in the spring. 

“We’re trying to train up – we've got new defensive ends and new tackles on offense,” senior Brock Tracy said. “It’s been interesting; they’re asking a lot of questions, and it’s just about helping them out and helping them through it. It’s been really good so far.” 

Moving into starting roles this season will be sophomore Cam Boness at quarterback, Doug Olson at left tackle and defensive end, Jack Nichols at right tackle, junior Turner Slack at linebacker and junior Brenik Esser at safety. 

While the Broncos boast strong numbers ahead of the upcoming season, it’s a young group of players with only five seniors on the roster; Brix Curtis, Carson Kubik, Zach Klein, Tracy and Boness. 

“We’re just trying to be the best leaders we can,” Kubik said. 

“You have to make sure you pay attention to them,” Bermea said of the younger players on the team. “They’re not going to be as far along as some of those other guys, so you’ve got to make sure you get into them and really push them to excel and give them confidence. Do things in such a way where you’re not just beating them up and throwing them against upperclassmen – use their passion for the game to keep them involved and engaged.”

LRS was one of the teams affected by Eastern Washington University not holding a football camp this fall, but that doesn’t mean the Broncos weren’t using the off-season to get better; on top of spring practices and scrimmages, players went through a strength and conditioning program led by Dustin Killian, the school’s athletic trainer who works at East Adams Rural Hospital. 

“They ran summer strength and conditioning for us, and we had a lot of guys involved in that,” Bermea said. “It’s really nice to see the community helping out.” 

This is Bermea’s third season as head coach of the Broncos, and he said his biggest takeaways from the past two seasons has been relationships with fellow members of the coaching staff and a focus on growing as a program. 

“You might do a lot of the same things, but you’re just trying to get better at it every day,” Bermea said.  

LRS Football Schedule 

Sept. 6 – at Liberty (Spangle) — 7 p.m. 

Sept. 13 – at Manson – 7 p.m. 

Sept. 20 – at Newport – 7 p.m. 

Sept. 27 – vs Reardan – 7 p.m. 

Oct. 4 – at Jenkins (Chewelah) - 7 p.m. 

Oct. 11 – vs Warden – 7 p.m. 

Oct. 18 – vs Northwest Christian (Colbert) - 7 p.m. 

Oct. 25 – at Asotin – 7 p.m. 

Nov. 1 – vs Freeman – 7 p.m. 

    The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague football team huddles before the start of practice on Saturday. Head Coach Brendan Bermea said the team will roster 38 players this fall.
  

    LRS running back Brody Boness takes a handoff during practice on Saturday. Boness is one of two Broncos returning who received all-league honors last fall.
  

    The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague offense gets set before a play during practice on Saturday. The offensive line is replacing two starters this season, both of which are at the tackle position.