Ronan runs over Browning
BROWNING - Adversity had already hit the Ronan Chiefs by the second quarter of their game against Browning. Two of their running backs were out. They were on the road. Browning was leading 8-6.
"We had to shuffle everything, it took us a while to get that down" Ronan head coach Jim Benn said. "We needed half time."
By the end of the game, the Chiefs (1-0) had just 19 players on the sideline that weren't injured, but they came out on top over Browning (0-1), 28-14.
Senior running backs Lucus Black and J.J. Tanner were both knocked out with a high ankle sprain and a strained ligament, respectively. It was a blow to the offense as Black averaged 9.3 yards per carry last year. Benn credited the defense for their stalwart performance in that hectic second quarter. The Chiefs had to punt four times as their offense tried to retool itself with new players.
Ronan made the playoffs for the first time since 1993 last year and the players were looking to start another drive to the postseason beginning with the first game.
"They were so coachable," Benn said of his squad. "We were a little flustered but they adapted to it and they dealt with it."
The offense clicked in the third quarter, as junior running back Marcus Hungerford ripped off a 56-yard touchdown run and junior quarterback Robbie Gauthier had a three-yard touchdown run. That put Browning in a 20-8 hole they never recovered from.
"The effort is really there," Benn said. "They came together and started clicking. It didn't matter who carried the ball."
After showing they had several different weapons during the Orange and Black scrimmage two weekends ago, seven different Ronan players carried the ball and junior running back Jack Humphreys added a 35-yard run in the fourth quarter for the icing on the cake.
Ronan finished with 306 yards rushing, with Hungerford leading the team with 84 yards on three carries. Sophomore Dallas Jore was second with 75 yards on nine attempts and Gauthier carried the ball 19 times for 57 yards. Ronan's defense gave up just 172 yards to Browning.
"There was no ego," Benn said. "They just wanted to win."
Black and Tanner are day-to-day, according to Benn. The Ronan Chiefs will play at 7 p.m. next Friday at Stevensville.