High school football previews
Intermountain League football
In predicted order of finish
Timberlake Tigers
2003 records: 8-2 overall, 4-1 league
Coach: Roy Albertson
Years coaching, record: 14th, 2nd at Timberlake, 79-45-1
Starters, lettermen returning: 8, 14
Base offense, defense: Wing T, 4-3
Key players: Nathan Anderson, senior, 6-foot-1, 175 pounds, fullback/strong safety; Travis Lazoran, sr., 6-0, 175, linebacker/wingback; Jarrett Thompson, sr., 6-6, 230, tight end/defensive end; Blake Cord, sr., 6-3, 235, middle linebacker/guard; Ren Jones, sr., 6-1, 180, guard/lb; Nick Jutila, junior, 5-10, 225, center/defensive tackle; Eric Lambert, sr., 5-9, 150, wide receiver/defensive back; David Howard, sr., 6-3, 270, dt/offensive tackle; Tim Brennan, sr., 5-10, 155, quarterback/db; Matt Douglas, sr., 5-8, 165, running back/db; Andrew Eastin, sr., 6-2, 240, t/de; Cody Reisenauer, sr., 5-11, 160, placekicker/wr/nose guard.
Coach’s comments: “We’re an unproven team. We have some good athletes that have to mesh together and play well.”
Outlook: The Tigers were a break or so from winning the league title last year. Self-inflicted mistakes stopped Timberlake in its showdown at Bonners Ferry for the league honors. The Tigers should reverse things this year.
Bonners Ferry Badgers
2003 records: 9-2, 5-0 (league champ)
Coach: Caleb Arceneaux
Years coaching, record: 2nd, 9-2
Base offense, defense: I, 50
Starters, lettermen returning: 7, 11
Key players: Matt Bennett, sr., 5-10, 180, rb/lb; Matt Rice, jr., 6-2, 190, wr/de; Kyle Behrens, jr., rb/lb; Travis Stolley, sr., wr/db; Sam Botkin, jr., qb/db; Wes Neiman, jr., 5-11, 200, lb/fb; Ben Turner, jr., 6-2, 220, ol/dl; Don Dinning, jr., 5-11, 230, offensive line/defensive line; Matt Carey, jr., 6-0, 305, ol/dl.
Coach’s comments: “The keys for us are the same as last year – being focused, being intense and minimizing turnovers. If we do those things we’ll be a good team.”
Outlook: The Badgers graduated a strong group of leaders, but return enough talent to defend their league title.
Priest River Spartans
2003 records: 3-5, 2-3
Coach: Gary Stewart
Years coaching, record: 2nd, 3-5
Base offense, defense: I, 50
Starters, lettermen returning: 7, 12
Key players: Jeremy Patterson, sr., 5-10, 170, qb/free safety; Jake Flaherty, sr., 5-11, 175, rb/lb; Joey Stark, sr., 5-8, 160, rb/cornerback; Chris Johnson, sr., 5-11, 235, ol/dl; Randy Cork, sr., 6-2, 185, tight end/de; Heath Wardrop, jr., 6-0, 215, fb/dl; Cory Johnson, jr., 6-1, 220, ol/dl; Shawn Walker, jr., 6-0, 185, center/lb.
Coach’s comments: “In my 10 years here (as assistant and head coach) this is the most coachable group I’ve had. It’s fun to go to practice.”
Outlook: The Spartans could be the surprise team of the league. If either Bonners Ferry or Timberlake stumbles, Priest River could challenge for as high as second.
Kellogg Wildcats
2003 records: 2-7, 1-4
Coach: Tim Kimberling
Years coaching, record: 9th, 7th at Kellogg, 26-45
Base offense, defense: Pro set, 4-3
Starters, lettermen returning: 4, 9
Key players: Seth Patton, sr., 6-0, 170, wr/lb; Brandon Landrum, sr., 5-10, 165, qb/db; Dennis Seagraves, sr., 5-7, 180, rb/lb; David Mitchem, sr., 6-0, 185, rb/de; Levi Duncan, jr., 6-0, 185, ol/lb; Kevin Rose, sr., 5-10, 205, ol/lb; Jacob Barker, jr., 5-9, 200, ol/dl; John Towne, sophomore, 5-10, 220, ol/dl; Anton Marek, sr., 6-0, 205, te/de.
Coach’s comments: “We don’t have a lot of numbers, but we’ve got some athletic kids. We’ll probably have some growing pains early.”
Outlook: The Wildcats don’t have enough horses to challenge the favorites. But the favorites won’t find Kellogg to be a cupcake either. The Wildcats fell 21-14 to Kamiah in a season opener.
St. Maries Lumberjacks
2003 records: 1-8, 0-5
Coach: John Yegge
Years coaching, record: 2nd, 1-8
Base offense, defense: Pro I, 4-3
Starters, lettermen returning: 4, 7
Key players: D.J. Moore, sr., 5-11, 225, g/de; Ben Felix, sr., 5-9, 175, rb; Travis Christensen, jr., 5-11, 160, qb; Josh Shuman, sr., 6-2, 210, lb/g; Ryne Eberlin, sr., 6-0, 185, lb/wr; Cory Wonderlick, jr., 6-0, 175, de/rb; Kyle Payne, sr., 5-7, 135, safety/wr; Kyle Joiner, soph., 6-0, 165, free s/te.
Coach’s comments: “We think we can have a winning season. If we win more than we lose we’re going to be ecstatic.”
Outlook: Yegge knows his team has set a high goal for a winning season, especially considering the Lumberjacks are 1-27 the past three years. St. Maries will be much improved even if the final record doesn’t match the goal. The ‘Jacks opened with a 28-13 win over Wallace.