Tornado Doesn't Faze Lady Broncos in Playoff-Clinching Win Over Brady

BRADY, TX-- The Sonora Lady Bronco volleyball team clinched a playoff spot on Saturday with a win over the Brady Lady Bulldogs.

Sonora swept Brady 25-6, 25-13 and 25-7 to move to 19-14 overall and 6-1 in District 4-3A.

While the Lady Broncos clinched the playoff berth, the focus wasn’t always on the game.

During the freshman game between Brady and Sonora, the tornado that ripped through Brady touched down and everyone had to take shelter.

First-year head coach Judi Harris called the moment surreal because every phone in the gym received the shrieking alert at the same time.

“It sounded like an amber alert,” Harris added. “We had already heard there may be a potential storm that could produce a tornado on our way there. So, we were ready for a storm to come through. But, to be honest, I didn’t think a tornado was going to come through.”

Around the time of the tornado warning coming through, Harris said the Brady trainer came into the gym to tell people to take shelter and the teams went to the locker rooms.

“So, of course, my kids sitting in the stands kind of panicked,” Harris said. “So I had to calm ‘em down...Of course I had girls in tears.”

The frightened players were wanting to call their parents. Harris emphasized to her girls that they were safe.

Harris told her team “Listen, we’re just gonna sit here, we’re just gonna wait. I’m gonna go find out what’s going on. If we need to call your parents, I’ll reach out to them to let them know ...  because right now y’all are just scared … I promise I’ll keep you safe.”

Harris then walked outside with other coaches and officials to watch the weather event unfold.

“The sirens were going off. It was dark,” Harris said. “I mean it was incredibly dark.”

After Harris spoke to her players, they settled down and stayed relaxed in the locker room.

In fact, the Lady Broncos were so relaxed that Brae Harris, the daughter of coach Harris, started a karaoke dance party.

“My daughter, she’s a goofball,” Harris laughed. “So, she tried to lighten the mood.”

After roughly 10 minutes, the teams got the all clear and they could resume the match in progress.

Another five minutes went by and the freshmen had not resumed play.

“As I was walking onto the floor, they were like ‘coach, we’ve gotta take shelter again,” Harris recalled. “Then I’m like ‘Holy cow!”

By the time Harris got her kids back to the locker room, the tornado had already moved to the east and it was deemed safe to play once again.

“It was pretty intense,” Harris said. “It made for a long day, but we got through it, thank goodness.”

Along with the varsity sweep, Sonora won both sub-varsity games.

Given how an event like a tornado can jar player’s focus, Harris was real proud to see her kids maintain their focus and get the playoff-clinching victory.

“We had a tough loss on Tuesday,” Harris said, referencing the loss to Wall. “So, they were beat up about it and they were ready to get another shot. To go through this and for it to be kinda traumatic, for us to settle down and pull through and get the win and wipe the Wall loss out of our mouth was pretty good. I think it’s a turning of a page for us.”

Senior Mary Kyle Johnson led the Lady Broncos in kills with 10. Brae Harris had a team-high 10 assists in the win. Raeven Harris led the team defensively with seven digs.

Sonora will travel to Reagan County on Tuesday while Brady faces Wall next Saturday.