The Clarendon Broncos play in a UIL Class 2A state tournament semifinal against La Rue La Poynor at 10 a.m. Friday at San Antonio’s Alamodome. [Ben Jenkins/ Press Pass Sports]
If there’s been a theme for the Clarendon Broncos throughout this season, it would likely be why not?Clarendon won the Class 2A state championship last year and returned three starters from that team this year. The Broncos had every reason to like their chances.And such confidence has paid off. Clarendon, ranked No. 2 in the state, is one of the last four teams in the state left standing, and they need only two more wins to repeat as state champion. That starts at 10 a.m. Friday when Clarendon (29-2) faces La Rue La Poynor in the day’s second state semifinal.In his second season as Clarendon coach, Boston Hudson was confident that he could go 2-for-2 in collecting gold medals.“I think every year and every team is different but we liked our team and thought we would have a chance to make a run,” Hudson said. “We knew New Home was going to be tough at the regional tournament. We kind of felt like if we played well at the right time we’d have a chance to make another run.”The Broncos faced New Home in the Region I-2A semifinal in Levelland and rolled to a 64-53 victory. They scored another 11-point victory in the region final, beating Christoval 60-49 as Jmaury Davis came up huge in the fourth quarter to carry Clarendon to victory.Now that the Broncos are back in San Antonio, it’s easy ask: Was this year state or bust?“We felt like that’s the expectation with the group of kids we have right now,” said Hudson, who had a successful athletic career in football and basketball at Canadian. “I think they’ve embraced that. That’s the way it was a Canadian. If we didn’t get there (to state), it’s not a good year. “These guys have taken that on and ran with it. They do a good job of preparing and practicing to make that happen.”
Davis, a junior who has verbally committed to play football at Texas Tech, leads the trio of returning starters. Seniors LaMarcus Peniugar and Cayden D’Costa also return for the Broncos along with another key senior from last season, Jordan Herndon.
After averaging 17 points and eight rebounds last season, Davis has shown he’s just as productive onm the hardwood as the gridiron. He leads the Broncos with 21 points a game and his 11 points in the fourth quarter were the exact difference against Christoval.
“Basically we still have the same team as last year, so the only thing we had to do this year was put in the work,” Davis said. “I think we picked up where we left off.”
That could be interpreted as cocky, or just suitably confident. Either way, it’s the kind of attitude Hudson wants.
“We’re defending state champions,” Hudson said. “I think it was realistic and we felt like we have that caliber of team. We’re getting everybody’s best shot every night, so to have the season we’ve had at 29-2, that’s impressive. To do that and have everybody’s best shot, that’s tough to do.”
To repeat, the Broncos might face a tougher task this week. La Poynor (33-6) is making its 10th state tournament appearance and second in the last three seasons.
The Flyers have one of the bigger, if not necessarily taller players in the tournament in post Cooper Gracey, who weighs in at over 300 pounds and is hard to move away from the basket.
“I think we’ll just have to guard,” Hudson said. “They’ve got a 6-4, 310 big kid and they’ve got a couple of good guards to complement him. Everybody’s good now in the Final Four. I think if we guard and take care of the basketball, I think we’ll be OK.”
As much as anything, the Broncos will be playing the experience. The Alamodome isn’t a normal basketball arena by any standard.
“The Alamodome was a big experience being in that atmosphere,” Davis said. “It’s hard to shoot with no walls or anything behind them.”
On paper, the Broncos might not be the favorite to win state. That would probably be 38-0 Lipan, who faces Mumford (31-7) in the day’s first semifinal at 8:30 a.m.
Last season, Clarendon beat Lipan 68-47 in the state semi which wasn’t played at the Alamodome due to COVID-19. The Broncos beat Grapeland in the state title game at the Alamodome, 64-60.
Hudson thinks that does nothing be help his team.
“I think the experience last year is an advantage because the Alamodome can be overwhelming,” Hudson said. “You feel like that goal’s just on an island. We’ve been there and done that. I think we’ll try to use that to our advantage.”