Idaho state football: Timberline eliminates Post Falls from 5A State playoffs
Against one of the state’s top quarterbacks and a capable Timberline offense, Post Falls coach Blaine Bennett thought his defense did enough to win Friday.
The Trojans’ big-play offense was absent, though.
Timberline downed host Post Falls 19-7 in the first round of the Idaho 5A State playoffs, a game in which the Trojans had ample opportunity to put the ball in the end zone.
Post Falls (6-4), the second-place team from the Inland Empire League, came up empty on four red-zone tries, the biggest coming late in the fourth quarter with a turnover on downs at Timberline’s 10-yard line.
“We didn’t do enough offensively,” said Bennett, whose team didn’t yield any points in the second half. “We made some plays, but not touchdown plays.”
Post Falls, which averaged 37.1 points a game, got its only points on the back of its defense.
Timberline (6-3) was driving into Post Falls territory on the game’s first drive, but quarterback Andy Peters’ pass was batted at the line of scrimmage, falling into the hands of linebacker Josiah Shields.
Post Falls subsequently drove the field and capped off the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run by Eli Gondo, helping the Trojans take a 7-0 lead into the second quarter.
That’s when Timberline came alive, scoring three touchdowns, including a 21-yard scoring strike from Peters to Nicolas Caballero to give the Timberwolves a 19-0 lead at halftime.
Peters, a Division I recruit, is the 71st-ranked pro-style quarterback in the country, according to the 247sports recruiting news website.
The Timberwolves, the sixth-place team from the Southern Idaho Conference, won the first playoff game in program history. They went 0-9 in 2018.
Stopping the potent explosive passing combination of Post Falls quarterback Derek Pearse and standout receiver Thomas Hauser was a priority for Timberline coach Ian Smart.
“We knew we needed to stop (Hauser). He’s a beast,” said Smart, a former Boise State defensive tackle. “I thought we won the game in the trenches.”
Other first-round games
5A: Mountain View 58, Lake City 0: The Mavericks jumped out to a 30-0 first-quarter lead against the Timberwolves (4-6) in Meridian.
4A: Blackfoot 40, Sandpoint 6: The Broncos beat the Bulldogs (6-4) in Blackfoot.
4A: Middleton 13, Moscow 3: The Vikings held off the Bears (5-4) in Moscow.
3A: Teton 33, Kellogg 8: The Redskins eliminated the Wildcats (3-6) in Teton.
2A: New Plymouth 33, St. Maries 15: Kobe Roberts had three passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns and the Pilgrims beat the Lumberjacks (5-4) in a 2A state first-round game.