Greg Lee: Timberwolves are even better than first thought

I took in the Lake City High football team’s season opener and it was difficult for me to determine if the defending 5A state champion is that good or if Timberline is that bad.

Honestly, folks, Lake City should have won something like 60-0. The Timberwolves had three touchdowns called back and 20 penalties.

The penalties weren’t so alarming. If you recall, the T-Wolves of 2006 had a propensity to commit penalties, too.

Coach Van Troxel will get his troops to cut back on the mistakes.

I will say this, though, about LC. The T-Wolves will be better than I anticipated. Even before I saw them Friday, I figured they could make a run at another state championship.

They will. Most certainly they will. No team in these parts will stop them. For LC to repeat, though, it will have to traverse a much more difficult path than the 2006 team.

Looking ahead, LC would have to travel to the top seed in the Boise area for a semifinal game. A date in the state title game would most likely occur in Pocatello, if not Boise.

I said last year LC would capture the state title. I must admit that part of the reason I felt I wasn’t going out on a limb to say that it was the road to a state title for the Timberwolves was close to home. The semifinal was on their home turf and the state final was in the cozy confines of the Kibbie Dome.

The LC defense of 2006 was something special. You would think that by graduating 10 of 11 starters defensive coordinator Russ Blank would have his hands full trying to fit new pieces into the puzzle.

But the 2007 defensive edition, even with the new faces, could be just as dominating as the 2006 installment.

Sure, a lot of that has to do with Boise State University-bound Byron Hout. But his supporting cast this year – including defensive end Sean Jolin, senior linebacker Billy Clifford and junior linebacker Jared Heston and senior safety Christian Hanna – will prove to be more than capable to fill the shoes of their 2006 teammates.

What about the offense? Garren Hammons, a two-year starter at quarterback, was a special talent, to be sure. But seniors Zach Clanton and Tommy Anderson will be fine replacements. They don’t have to win ballgames. They just need to avoid making critical mistakes, and they need to get the ball into the hands of the big-play makers like B.J. Palmer, Kyle Johnson and Kyle Graves.

LC lost some offensive linemen, too, but assistant coach Henry Hamill likes the makings of this year’s trench crew.

The 60-year-old Hamill is a master at coaching up his line. He’s been around the block a few times. He will tweak and fine tune until those boys are working in unison.

The final product? Well, if it’s not a state title, it’s going to be something close.