RITZVILLE — After a 7-2 season that ended with a loss to Okanogan in the District 6/7 Crossover last season, the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos are entering 2023 with the goal of returning to the state playoffs.

“We have to put ourselves in a better position right at the beginning,” head coach Brendan Bermea said. “That’s what our goal is, maximize every opportunity.”

An early-season loss to Liberty (Spangle) created a three-way tie atop the Northeast 2B standings at the end of the regular season, which due to tiebreakers sent the Broncos to face off against the eventual state runner-up for a chance to get into the playoffs.

“We lost our second game to Liberty, and I think that taught us a lot,” junior running back Brody Boness said. “That every single game matters. It was only our second game of the season, so we didn’t expect it to predict our destiny. Every rep matters, every down matters, every possession — I feel like we need to preach that this year.”

Ten of the 37 players on last year’s roster were seniors, which has left roles to be filled on both sides of the ball. One of those positions is quarterback, which has been taken over by senior Travis Redburn, who played running back for the Broncos in 2022.

“I was kind of nervous at first, but I’ve taken it on because my freshman year I did a little quarterback stuff,” Redburn said. “There was no one left to really (play) the quarterback position, so I just took it by the horns.”

A role that doesn’t need to be filled is the run game, featuring returning backs in Boness and senior Brock Kinch. The duo combined for 1,114 yards and 12 touchdowns on 165 carries for LRS last season, an accomplishment they hope to repeat in this upcoming season.

“Those guys put a lot of work in,” Bermea said. “They’ve done a lot for leadership and they’re growing in that avenue. They put a lot of time in themselves, and they do a good job of trying to get the guys to put in the same level of time in. It’s pretty lucky to have two pretty big-sized running backs that are strong, quick and willing to run hard.”

Boness said last year’s running was more physical than what he had done in the past, which made its impact felt by opposing teams.

“Compared to our freshman and sophomore years, last year we played a lot more physical,” Boness said. “I think that makes a statement and sets the tone for a game, so this year we’re looking forward to doing that.”

With the Broncos being a run-heavy team, Kinch said it’s important to keep in mind that other teams in the Northeast 2B league will be entering games with the goal of slowing down the run game.

“We’ve got to be prepared too, because every team in our league knows that we’re a run-heavy team,” Kinch said. “We know that they’re looking at the run game the most.”

LRS had strong participation during spring practices in the off-season, which allowed players and coaches to get familiar with one another before fall practices began in mid-August.

“In the spring we had 30 kids every day,” Bermea said. “We were building, and these kids were getting reps and getting knowledge. It’s been nice to see.”

The team also went to camp at Central Washington University, where they faced off against schools from all different classifications in the state.

“The big thing for us is we were competing against bigger schools,” Bermea said. “We played a lot of 2A schools, 3A schools – in the goal line challenge, we lined up against a 4A school. When you do those kinds of things and you see success, it gives you a lot of confidence against teams of your own level.”

LRS opens its 2023 season Sept. 1 on the road against Colfax. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

“We have so many guys that are coming in and able to fill those spots,” Bermea said. “It feels like we have a lot of depth. Some of the things we were working on at the end of last year on our coverage, we’re making improvements on.”

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

LRS Football Schedule

Sept. 1 — @ Colfax — 7 p.m.

Sept. 8 — vs. Liberty (Spangle) — 7 p.m.

Sept. 15 — @ Tri-Cities Prep — 7 p.m.

Sept. 29 — vs. Northwest Christian (Colbert) — 7 p.m.

Oct. 6 — @ Jenkins (Chewelah) — 7 p.m.

Oct. 13 — vs. Reardan — 7 p.m.

Oct. 20 — vs. Lake Roosevelt — 7 p.m.

Oct. 27 — vs. Asotin — 7 p.m.