LIND — The Lind-Ritzville Broncos (2-2) earned a statement 35-13 win over the Asotin Panthers Friday which was highlighted by strong running and game wrecking defense.  

“We really hurt ourselves in the first half,” Head Coach Brenden Bermea said. “We turned the ball over four times, but it was great to see them bounce back. We're becoming more resilient as a team, and you can only find that out when you're actually on the field.” 

The Broncos fell behind in the first quarter but responded with 21 unanswered points, despite four first half fumbles, to take a 21-7 halftime lead. In the second half the Broncos took firm control of the game, leaning on the run while the defense forced multiple turnovers on downs as they cruised to the win at home.  

“A lot of credit to Asotin,” Bermea said. “I know they're up against it this year, but those kids fought really hard. Kind of helped bring it out of my guys, as we're trying to learn to be a better football team.” 

First half 

The Broncos got off to a rocky start, fumbling on the opening drive after getting called for holding. The Panthers capitalized on their favorable field position to punch the ball in and take a 7-0 lead.  

The Broncos stumbled again, fumbling the ball away on back-to-back drives to open the game. Ryan Erdman regained momentum with an interception on Asotin’s next drive to give LRS the ball back.  

“(At) Colfax last week he forced a fumble, and he had an interception,” Bermea said. “Today he had a couple picks; the guy is just finding the football. We'd love to (try to) take credit for it; our coverage has improved, but the dude just has that sixth sense. He just figures it out. He reads it so well – just blessed to have him as a player.” 

The Broncos strung together a lengthy drive through the run game. It took just about every down, at one point converting a fourth-and-1 before Archer Killian scored on a short run. The Broncos missed the extra point and LRS trailed 7-6 heading into the second quarter.  

After the defense forced a punt, the LRS offense got back to work moving the chains through the run while sprinkling in some pass plays that rolled out quarterback Shane Kubik to find open receivers downfield. Running back Cameron Boness plowed through multiple defenders on his way to a touchdown to put the Broncos ahead. They went up 14-7 after converting a two-point play.  

Gunner Grimm, Marcial Davis, Douglas Olson and Logan Gering formed a game wrecking defensive line throughout the game. They consistently broke into the backfield to help get the ball back to the Broncos offense.  

The offense fumbled the ball for a third time in the first half. However, Erdman came through again, hauling in another interception off a pass attempt. The momentum was halted after LRS fumbled for a fourth time.  

Multiple turnovers never prevented the defense from responding as Olson got after the quarterback for a sack, which led to a Panthers three-and-out. With the ball back at the Asotin 37-yard line and just over a minute left in the half, the Broncos were aggressive.  

Kubik found Erdman multiple times through the air to move the chains. On the five-yard line, Kubik found Erdman once again for the touchdown as time expired.  

Second half 

The Broncos seized full control of the game coming out of the break, forcing another Asotin turnover on downs to open the third quarter.  

From there, the offense started from their 45-yard line. They capitalized with big runs by Boness, which set them up in the redzone. Just outside the endzone, a miscommunication on the snap forced the Broncos to work on a broken play.  

Despite that, Kubik found Lucas Gardner along the right sideline before he turned to make a man miss on his way to the touchdown, extending the lead to 28-7.  

The Broncos defense continued to wreak havoc on the Panthers front line, forcing multiple turnovers on downs throughout the second half. The offense added one more score in the fourth quarter when Boness juked a defender on his way to a 22-yard touchdown, putting the game out of reach at 35-7.  

The Panthers found the endzone in the late stages of the fourth quarter, but the Broncos were able to run out the clock shortly after and seal the win.  

LRS returns to the gridiron on Oct. 2 when they travel to play Liberty at 7 p.m. Their next home game is set for Oct. 9 when they host Freeman at 7 p.m. The Broncos have a chance to capitalize off the momentum from this win, Bermea said.  

“It comes down to consistency,” the coach said. “We're finally blocking some of our plays better, and you give some good blocking to some skill athletes. We might have had about 300 yards rushing tonight, and we hadn't had that in a while. Last year was a bit of a struggle, but you can see (them) staying on point, and as these kids are growing and developing, we're getting back to what we want to be.” 

BOX SCORE: 

ASTN: 7-0-0-6: 13 

LRSB: 6-15-7-7: 35

    Douglas Olson (72) tackles the Asotin ball carrier in the backfield.
  

    Ryan Erdman (7) and Logan Gering (12) set a double team block for running back Cameron Boness (10) against Asotin on Friday.
  

    Broncos quarterback Shane Kubik (15) hikes the ball before handing it off to Cameron Boness (10) who carried the ball into the endzone on this play.