• Lions head to second round thanks to unlikely win at Bethany

Any doubts have been silenced. Blanchard is for real.

Losers of their first three games, the Lions have won six of their last seven, including a 43-21 upset over Bethany Friday in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.

Blanchard, now 7-4, will play second-ranked Cascia Hall Friday for a berth in the semifinals. Cascia Hall beat Roland Friday 41-7.

“Some people were looking at us as the upset special of the week,” Blanchard coach Jeff Craig said. “But I think deep down, most people thought, no, they aren’t going to beat Bethany.”

The Lions’ special teams were a big key Friday. Blaine Brooks returned a punt 57 yards for Blanchard’s first points and Jarrit Larson connected on a 29-yard field goal to give Blanchard an early 9-0 lead.

Two quick second quarter touchdowns gave Bethany a 14-9 lead at halftime. But 17 points in the third quarter gave Blanchard the cushion it needed.

Blake Stringer hit Adam Meave for a 60-yard touchdown pass, then Brooks picked off a Silas Day pass and returned it 53 yards for a score to give Blanchard the lead at 19-14. Stringer then found Dalton Dolezal for a 31-yard touchdown to give Blanchard a 26-14 lead.

Blanchard added two more scores in the fourth (a 7-yard run by John McCracken and a 1-yard run by Stringer) to ice the game. But it was the defense that told the true story. The Broncos had been averaging 35 points per outing coming in.

Bethany’s passing attack was prolific, gaining 295 yards. But the Lions picked off five passes,

“It’s very nerve-racking to play Bethany the way their offense is,” Craig said. “They are very potent. But once again, you have to give credit to our kids for responding the way they did. They threw the ball about 60 times. The way our defense played, that was huge.”