LC doesn’t miss beat

The calendar says 2007, but the way the Lake City High football team played Friday it looked a lot like 2006.

The defending 5A state champion Timberwolves, ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll this week, cruised past visiting Timberline of Boise 40-0 in a non-league season opener for both teams.

LC, which was prone to penalties at times last year during the 12-0 march to the state championship, was whistled for 20 penalties for 140 yards. Two touchdowns were called back.

“We made some plays, but we’ve got a ways to go,” LC coach Van Troxel said. “We had a lot of those (penalties) last year, too. In some ways that’s all right because we want to be aggressive. But we’ve got to get more disciplined and work things out.”

Just as it was a year ago, the LC defense was suffocating. The T-Wolves allowed Timberline just 23 yards in the first half, including minus-5 yards on 11 carries rushing.

Troxel’s plan to rotate senior quarterbacks Zach Clanton and Tommy Anderson also proved effective. Clanton started and was immediately given a short field thanks to the T-Wolves recovering two first-quarter fumbles.

Timberline fumbled the opening kickoff, and LC took over at the Wolves’ 30-yard line. Eight plays later, fullback Jared Heston plowed into the end zone from 3 yards out.

On Timberline’s second play from scrimmage, LC senior defensive end Sean Jolin recovered the first of two fumbles, putting the T-Wolves in business at Timberline’s 19. Three plays later, senior running back B.J. Palmer darted 9 yards to give LC a 13-0 lead with 6:20 to go in the quarter.

Anderson was given a longer field, and he took advantage. He completed his first five passes, and he finished 10 of 13 for 236 yards.

Speedy senior wide receiver Kyle Johnson showed why he might be the best in the state. He caught five passes for 174 yards. Senior teammate Kyle Graves pulled in five catches for 42 yards and also had an interception.

LC added two more TDs in the second quarter, the first coming on a 1-yard plunge by Palmer and the second coming on a 13-yard reception by Christian Hanna from Anderson, as the T-Wolves took a 26-0 lead into halftime.

After a scoreless third quarter, LC scored two more TDs in the fourth. Graves took a pitch from Anderson and sprinted 10 yards for the first TD and third-string QB Adam Fenenbock connected with Julian Burgess on a 4-yard pass for the final score.

What pleased Troxel the most was he got to clear his bench early.

“What I’m excited about is we’ve got 70 guys (seniors and juniors) and most everybody played,” Troxel said. “It’s nice that the seniors are good football players because they’re going to give people a chance to play.”

Troxel couldn’t praise the defense enough.

“They’re going to be fun to watch,” he said. “When you look at them, all of those guys can get to the football in a hurry.”

As for the mistakes, Troxel isn’t too concerned.

“We’ve got a lot of wrinkles to work out on the offensive side. But those are things we can get better at,” he said. “We’ve got some big-play capabilities with Johnson and Graves and (Palmer). There are a lot of plusses.”

LC returns to action Friday at Kennewick.

The T-Wolves don’t return home until Sept. 28 when they take on crosstown rival Coeur d’Alene.