LRS has powerful foe in Okanogan

Greg Whitmore would never say this is where his team expected to be at this point in November.

Not after losing much to graduation off a team that captured a second straight State 2B football championship.

But the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague coach hopes his team’s postseason experience pays dividends today when the Broncos (12-0) will be underdogs against Okanogan Bulldogs (11-1) in a semifinal showdown at Moses Lake. Kickoff is at 4.

“They’re awfully good,” Whitmore said of the Bulldogs. “They’re not unbeatable, but we’re going to have to play our best football for sure and hope for some good things to happen.”

LRS has won 38 straight dating back to the 2011 quarterfinals.

Whitmore is banking on his team’s postseason success to be something they rely heavily on if things get dicey today.

“We’ve got kids who know what it’s like to play in the semifinals,” Whitmore said. “We want to keep the game close and find a way to win. It’s probably the first game we’ve been true underdogs in a while.

“So we think there’s nothing to lose. We want to hold on to the (state title) gold ball.”

For that to happen, the Broncos will need to lean on the capable legs of 6-foot-4 do-everything utility back Cort Ruzicka.

Ruzicka has led the Broncos in rushing and steps in at quarterback in critical situations. He’s been big on defense, too, along with middle linebacker Colin Sheffels.

Okanogan’s lone loss came to Brewster, which LRS defeated in the first round. Okanogan handled Brewster in a rematch.

The Bulldogs blanked Reardan 26-0 in the first round.

“We know what they’re going to do,” Whitmore said. “They don’t do a ton of things but what they do they do great and fast. They want to run. We have to be extremely disciplined and read our keys. We need to force them to do what they’re not comfortable doing and that’s pass.”