BETHANY – The Bronchos’ football opener had some early season mistakes but the Bethany offense was potent and the defense forced timely turnovers in a 40-21 win over 5A’s Noble Thursday (Aug. 29).

The Bronchos got three touchdowns on the ground junior Judson Gilliland and three touchdown connections between seniors Jackie Payne and Wyatt Geissler.

In the opening quarter, both team struggled with pre-snap penalties. Noble was unable to move the ball and punted.

Bethany gave the ball back on a Gilliland fumble with 6:51 left in the first quarter. The Bears took advantage, scoring on a Jackson Steely two-yard run with 3:22 left in the first quarter, taking a 7-0 lead.

Bethany answered with a 14-play drive that culminated with a 5-yard touchdown pass from senior Payne to Geissler to tie the game at 7-7.

After the defense forced a three-and-out, the Broncho offense finished a nine-play drive on a 26-yard touchdown run from Gilliland who found a hole on the right side. Bethany took a 14-7 lead at the 4:55 mark in the second quarter.

Noble fumbled the ball on the ensuing kickoff and senior Cooper Johnson jumped on the ball.

The Bronchos didn’t wait long to capitalize.

Payne and Geissler connected on the next play on a 25-yard score to extend the lead to 21-7 at 3:41 in the second quarter.

Noble answered when senior Conner Lane got behind the defensive secondary for a 73-yard touchdown catch to make it 21-14 with 2:31 before half.

On the ensuing possession, Bethany worked quickly, scoring in three plays on a one-yard run by GIlliland. Payne and Geissler highlighted the drive with a 46-yard connection. At half, Bethany led, 28-14.

Noble pulled within a score after Payne was picked off in on the first drive of the third quarter. This led to another Broncho secondary coverage bust and an 80-yard touchdown catch from Noble junior Seth Wilson, making it 28-21 at the 9:53 mark.

That was as close as the Bears would get.

Gilliland capped a 13-play drive by taking a direct snap and scoring from five yards out with 5:50 left in the third.

On the next possession, Noble drove into Bethany territory but the Bethany defense forced a turnover on downs. Inside the Bethany 40-yard line, the Bears had three incomplete passes including a pass break up by senior Garrett Johnson.

The Bronchos went on an 11-play drive, which finished with Payne finding Geissler in the corner of the end zone for a 13-yard score to make it 40-21 at the 10:36 mark in the fourth quarter.

Noble returned the ensuing kickoff to near midfield but their drive fizzled after senior Brock Cross snagged an interception to seal the win.

Bethany coach Jon Arthur was pleased with the way Gilliland ran the ball.

“I don’t know that (Noble) tackled him in the second half. They ran him out of bounds several times. He was really running well.” Arthur said. “That’s kind of why we’ve made that move with him this year and gonna play him there and play Jackie (Payne) at quarterback.”

The connection between Payne and Geissler was another plus.

“(Geissler’s) just an exceptional route runner down on the goal line when people are in man coverage.” Arthur said. “Jackie obviously threw him some great balls.”

On defense, freshman defensive lineman Breck Brady made big plays in his Broncho debut, batting down a couple of screen passes and making some tackles for loss in the fourth quarter.

“He’s gonna be, gonna be a really good one,” Arthur said. “His length certainly helped and he made a big play in the run game there. Excited about him for sure.”

UP NEXT

Bethany travels to Taft Stadium to take on John Marshall next Friday (Sept. 6). Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

TEAM	1	2	3	4	F
Noble (0-1)	7	7	7	0	21
Bethany (1-0)	0	28	13	6	40

Photographs courtesy of Kristie Escoe of Life in Action Photography.