Timberlake rolls past Bonners Ferry
The undefeated Timberlake Tigers all but locked up the Intermountain League football title with a 47-20 win over the visiting Bonners Ferry Badgers Friday night.
Junior tailback Nick Puckett rushed 16 times for 193 yards and three touchdowns for Timberlake (3-0 IML, 7-0 overall) in a game that wasn’t close.
“The kids stepped up tonight and played a great game,” Tigers coach Roy Albertson said. “Bonners is a good football team and our kids really responded and kept our undefeated streak going, and the last time we were undefeated and 6-0, Bonners beat us.
“We’re just excited for the kids and our school.”
Timberlake jumped out 19-0 in the first quarter, scoring touchdowns on three of its first four drives, the third coming on a 62-yard Puckett run in which the fleet-footed junior took a handoff up the gut, cut right and raced up the right sideline all alone.
Bonners Ferry (3-4, 2-1) managed to mount a scoring drive late in the first half in which quarterback AJ Bennett found running back Josh Hawks for a 27-yard gain to the Timberlake 9-yard line. That was followed with a touchdown strike to Hawks on the next play.
But two Bennett interceptions in the first half and two more in the second half spelled doom for Bonners Ferry, which also turned the ball over on a fumble midway through the second half.
The Badgers only managed 94 yards on the ground against a staunch Tigers defense that sacked Bennett nine times, including four by senior defensive end Logan Cook.
Timberlake quarterback Levi Powers threw touchdown passes of 29 and 47 yards to senior running back Cody Jones and sophomore tight end Casey Denton, respectively. Powers finished 7 of 11 for 179 yards with two interceptions.
About the only thing that went wrong for Timberlake was that it committed what Albertson called “almost a record” for penalties – 14 in all, for 104 yards in a game that lasted three hours.
Bennett finished 12 of 30 for 163 yards and running back John Heigel led the way on the ground for Bonners Ferry with 68 yards on 17 carries.
The 3A state playoffs begin Oct. 27 with three IML teams advancing.
The IML champion will play host to the IML No. 3 seed, and the IML No. 2 seed will travel to take on the Snake River Valley champion.