Sports aren’t always fun and games. Some days you are just overpowered and outmatched. The Broncos just happened to be outmanned by a talented Chambers Wheeler Central (CWC) Renegades squad. Both teams had come in undefeated at 4-0, but CWC advanced their undefeated season while the Broncos took a hard loss. The Broncos didn’t just lose the game, but they lost senior running back, Micah Dexter, for the season to a devastating knee injury.
The game kicked off in Chambers on a brisk Friday night. Some Broncos donned the white “Bronco” leggings while others chose to go with a warm under armour. The game started out hopeful as Stuart pinned the Renegades early, but a long touchdown pass from star quarterback Brenden Pelster to receiver Zane Patrick started the scoring early. The Broncos put together drives early as a pass from quarterback Tate Schmaderer to Micah Dexter put the Broncos in Renegade territory early. The drive stalled as penalty flags held the Bronco offense back all night. CWC capitalized and took a 14-0 lead heading into the 2nd quarter. Another easy score for CWC put Stuart in a 20-0 hole early in the second quarter. With only 6 minutes left in the second quarter, junior Franklin Fessler came up with a key fumble recovery to get the Broncos the ball back within striking distance. Big runs by freshman running back Chance Engel put the Broncos on the board and cut the deficit to 20-6. CWC used a big pass when they got the ball back and quickly answered for a 28-6 halftime lead. The game wasn’t quite out of reach, but Stuart needed an answer.
The resilient Broncos couldn’t quite find their footing in the second half either. A tough Renegade defense was able to push back the Bronco offense all night. CWC was able to punch through early in the third quarter and jump out to a 36-6 lead. A promising drive by the Broncos was halted when Micah Dexter was injured on a screen pass. He had been a key part in the Broncos State Runner-Up trip to Lincoln in 2013. Micah led the state in tackles until being hurt and will be sorely missed by an inexperienced Bronco defense. The Broncos forged on, but gave up another touchdown as Schmaderers’ pass was picked off by CWC corner Daniel Libolt. Libolt took the ball 77 yards for a touchdown and the deficit was now 42-6. Two more scores by the Renegades led to a 58-6 loss for the young Broncos.
Key injuries have halted the Broncos strides this year as they have a numerous amount of starters out for their next game against the undefeated Osmond Tigers. Injuries to a couple of key players are something that is hard to recover for a small D2 team. Nonetheless, a couple of the Broncos will get an opportunity to play as they will host Osmond in their next game. Go Broncos!
