Holly Pond is a winner once again — and this one was never in doubt.

The Broncos snapped a 20-game losing streak Friday night with a 50-14 thumping of Gaston.

It was the Green and White’s first win since they beat Tarrant on Oct. 1, 2021 and their first win at home since the 2021 season opener against Brindlee Mountain.

It was also win No. 1 for coach Coleman Mason, who is in his first year in charge at Holly Pond.

“What is it they say on ‘The A-Team?’ ‘You love to see a plan come together,'” Mason said.

The game represented “a relief” for Mason personally but also a long-awaited payoff for the Broncos, who their coach said have shown resilience and maturity to work so hard when positive results weren’t there yet.

“We started believing that we could do some good things and they started playing harder and harder as we went,” Mason said of Friday’s game. “You could feel the momentum. It was awesome.”

Sawyer Olinger rushed for touchdowns of 6 and 40 yards and found Fox Westall for a 37-yard touchdown for Holly Pond (1-6, 1-3 in Class 2A, Region 6).

Jayden Holloway (8 yards), Boston Gibbs (22 yards), Brody Howard (2 yards) and Coby McCoy (1 yard) each produced TD runs.

Holloway’s touchdown put Holly Pond in front and the Broncos forced a fumble inside their own 5-yard line to prevent a score by Gaston (1-5, 0-3), eventually turning it into Gibbs’ touchdown.

The Broncos led 37-0 at halftime, which was already more points than they had scored in a single game in more than a year.

Mason acknowledged he says some of the same things over and over each week and his team finally got its first reward.

“You just hope something good can come about and there’s fruitfulness to be had in the words that you say,” he said.

Now the Broncos can think about more wins. The next opportunity is at home next week against West End-Walnut Grove. 

Regardless of upcoming results, Mason wants his players to believe they can play with teams consistently and show the type of character that will benefit them as they grow.

In the meantime, they have earned a moment to savor.

“It was a good evening,” Mason said.