Briggs, Stenberg Lead Broncos In Rout Of Gogebic

HARRIS---The Bark River-Harris Broncos got five touchdown passes from Jace Briggs...three of them to Iver Stenberg...and rolled to a 52-24 win over the Gogebic Miners Friday in Harris.

The Broncos scored six touchdowns on their eight first half posessions to take a 44-8 lead into the locker room, then let their junior varsity boys play most of the second half.

"We talked about establishing the run game before we could pass," said Stenberg, who had 143 yards rushing on 13 carries to go along with his three touchdown receptions. "That's exactly what we did. We got the run game down, and then we started passing."

"We came in expecting them to come with a 60 (defensive) front or a 53 on defense, but they actually came out in a 44, so we were kind of thrown off coming in," Briggs said. "But were just planning to run until they stopped the run, and just pass when we need it."

The first drive of the game was all on the ground, with Stenberg breaking off runs of 19 and 31 yards.

Briggs scored on a three-yard quarterback keeper, and then Briggs scored the two-point conversion to make it 8-0. Then after a Zeke Oswald fumble recovery gave BR-H the ball back, the Broncos drove 54 yards in seven plays for their second touchdown of the game.

It was fourth and goal from the eight when Briggs found Stenberg wide open for the touchdown.

The Bronco defense continued to dominate as Sam Hall intercepted a Luke Zielinski pass at the 43 yard line, and five plays later, Tristan Stevens ran it in from 28 yards out, making it 20-0. Briggs threw the two-point pass to Kadin Mustafa, and it was 22-0 early in the second quarter.

The Miners' trouble on offense continued on the next series as they fumbled the ball at midfield for their third straight turnover. And the Broncos struck quickly with Briggs finding Stenberg all alone again, this time for a 45-yard touchdown reception. Kyle Starnes ran in the two-pointer.

Gogebic, down 30-0, finally got on the board as Shane Cole took a pitch-out and ran 43 yards down the sideline. He also ran in the two-point conversion.

But later in the second quarter, the Broncos scored their prettiest touchdown of the game as a short pass from Briggs turned into a 32-yard touchdown pass to Mustafa.

"I saw the first guy, and I knew he was gonna over-persue me," Mustafa said. "So, I juked back to the inside. Then the other guy, he grabbed onto my belt, and i couldn't get away at first. But I just kept my feet pumping. Then, there was one more guy right on me, so I was like 'I'm gonna have to dive for the pylon'."

"It was a short route and he just made something happen," Briggs said.

The Broncos closed the first half with a five-yard touchdown pass from Briggs to Mike Hall.

In the second half, the Miners got a 15-yard touchdown pass from Zielinski to Cody Schwartz, and then Zielinski found Jared Janczak for a 37-yard touchdown. So, with Gogebic starting to creep back into the game, the Broncos brought the starters back in, and it only took one play for Briggs to hook up with Stenberg for the third time...this time, a 63-yard bomb.

"They kind of set that up for me," Stenberg laughed.

"Before the play, Coach told me that we're gonna send Iver deep," Briggs said. "I dropped back at first and I saw Iver running, and I saw his guy behind him, so I was like, 'Iver's open!' But then, as I'm throwing it, I saw someone in white backpeddaling right in front of me. So, I'm thinking 'oh, crap, I just threw it right into the defender'. But it was the referee!"

Briggs completed five passes in the game...all for touchdowns. He was 5-for-9 for 153 yards, and the Bronco running game turned in 348 yards. Besides Stenberg's 143 yards, Starnes rushed 15 times for 107 yards, and Stevens had five carries for 52 yards.

The BR-H defense forced six turnovers, including four interceptions.

The Broncos inproved to 2-0 on the season, and will have their biggest challenge next Friday night with the conference opener at Newberry. The Indians are also 2-0. Game time is 7:00, and it will be broadcast live on WUPF-FM (107.3), and at www.radioresultsnetwork.com.

Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE IGHLIGHTS box above to see photos and videos taken by Nate Bellville, and to hear radio replays and interviews.