Powers guides Tigers to win

SPIRIT LAKE – Timberlake junior running back Nick Puckett thought he had let his team down when he fumbled the ball away at midfield with 3:44 remaining Friday.

Timberlake’s defense, though, gave the 3A Tigers another chance when they forced Lakeland to punt moments later. Then Puckett’s offensive buddies did the same as the Tigers ran their 2-minute offense to perfection.

Tigers junior quarterback Levi Powers scored on a 2-yard option keeper with 10 seconds to go as Timberlake pulled out a 19-15 win over 4A Lakeland in a mistake-filled but entertaining non-league football game at Van Tuinstra Memorial Field.

The late-game excitement didn’t end until the horn sounded and Powers had made a touchdown-saving tackle. Lakeland quarterback Jack Vanderlinden hit wide receiver Steve Hanni in stride on a deep bomb, but Powers tackled the Hawk at the 16-yard line as the clock expired.

The final 8 minutes of the game were a fitting finish to a game neither team could take control of earlier.

With the score tied 12-12, Lakeland took over at its 20 when a Puckett 25-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide left with 8:03 to go.

The Hawks followed with their second-best offensive series of the game. They marched to the Timberlake 10 before a fumbled snap by Vanderlinden followed by two incomplete passes forced Lakeland to attempt a 29-yard field goal. Left-footed John Novak split the uprights, pushing the Hawks ahead 15-12 with 3:49 to go.

A personal foul penalty by Lakeland for a late hit on the ensuing kickoff return allowed Timberlake to begin at its 49. That’s when Puckett, who finished with 220 yards, fumbled on the first play. If his heart could have sunk below the grass, it would have at that point.

“There’s really no excuse. A helmet got on the ball and I didn’t have a good handle on it,” Puckett said. “It’s my bad. For my team to pick me up like that and for us to drive in – that’s awesome.”

Puckett picked up 33 yards on Timberlake’s first four plays on its final possession as the Tigers had to use a hurry-up approach.

Tight end Casey Denton had the key contribution, though, when he somehow found a way to reach back while sliding to catch a 10-yard pass from Powers that put the Tigers at the 19. Denton followed that up by hauling in a 14-yard throw that gave Timberlake first-and-goal at the 4.

Powers quickly spiked the ball, stopping the clock with 14 seconds to go. Then Lakeland was called offside, giving the Tigers first-and-goal at the 2.

On the next play, Powers executed a fake handoff to Puckett on a dive, pulled the ball back and scampered untouched for the winning score.

“Levi read it perfect,” Puckett said. “We’d been running that pretty successfully all night. I’m just glad I was able to pull a good fake. It’s Levi’s decision to read the (defensive) end, and the end bit down on me. Then he’s got the option to pitch it to Cody (Jones) if he wants to. Obviously, there was no need to. I can’t give our (offensive) line enough props.”

Timberlake, which moved to 6-0 overall and is ranked third in the state, plays host to defending Intermountain League champ Bonners Ferry next week in a game that should decide the league title.

“It’s nice to be going into the league championship game 6-0,” Puckett said. “It probably would have been harder to go into it 5-1 and show up to play. It’s awesome to keep the perfect season (going). That was our goal from Day One.”

Timberlake coach Roy Albertson said his team’s ability to come from behind late was directly related to their overtime win earlier over Riverside (42-41) in which the Tigers trailed by two TDs.

“We’ve had practice in games like this,” Albertson said. “We managed to get some big plays when we needed them.”

For Lakeland (4-3), the loss was disappointing – especially with a bye next week and a key league game awaiting the week after against Sandpoint. The Hawks had limited use of two-way starter Bubba Bartlett, who suffered a minor pulled muscle last week.

“I didn’t think we were flat at all. I thought we played extremely well,” Lakeland coach Tim Kiefer said. “Defensively, I thought we played well. Offensively, I thought we moved the ball. It was just offensive mistakes that shut us down.”

In other non-league action, John Aune scored from 4 yards out and Randy Hamilton caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Jake Salisbury in the third quarter, but it wasn’t enough as Libby beat Post Falls (3-3) 17-14 in Libby, Mont. Neither team scored in the fourth quarter. … Kurt Stoll bulldozed his way for 242 yards on 39 carries to lead Sandpoint (3-4) to a 33-21 win over visiting Lewiston (3-3). Stoll scored three touchdowns for the Bulldogs, who rushed for 178 more yards than the Bengals. Lewiston’s Nate Ebel returned an interception 62 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter to bring the Bengals within six points, but Stoll’s 7-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter sealed the deal for the Bulldogs. … La Grande (Ore.) beat Moscow 44-22 at Moscow.

Intermountain League

Josh Hawks returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown in the third quarter to give host Bonners Ferry (3-3, 1-1) a 12-7 win over Priest River (3-4, 1-2). Hawks finished with 82 rushing yards on 12 carries. John Heigel led the Spartans with 107 rushing yards on 17 carries. Kenny Swift added 53 receiving yards and five catches. Badgers quarterback A.J. Bennett was 8 of 14 passing for 98 yards and one touchdown in the win. … In other league action, Mick Marion scored five rushing touchdowns to guide visiting Kellogg (2-4, 1-1) to a 68-8 win over St. Maries (0-7, 0-3). Wildcats quarterback Ty Ketchum threw four touchdowns in the win. Jared Bitterman scored the only touchdown for the Lumberjacks on a 5-yard run in the fourth quarter. St. Maries remains winless and in last place in the league standings.