Wolverines advance in state tourney, beat Timberlake 34-27

Weiser beat Timberlake 34-27 Friday at home in the first round of 3A state football playoff action.

 It will now be the Wolverines versus the Badgers as No. 3 Weiser faces No. 6 Bonners Ferry Saturday, Nov. 5 at Roy Dickerson Memorial Field in Weiser.

Game time is 1 p.m.

 The Badgers are 9-0 overall and 1-0 in 3A Intermountain standings. The team’s only conference game was an 18-13 win against Timberlake on Oct. 21. Winners of the Weiser-Bonners Ferry and Homedale-South Fremont games will meet up in the semi-final round next week.

Weiser v. Timberlake

 Weiser scored on the game’s opening drive on Friday when junior running back Brock Spencer found the endzone from three yards out. The point after, however, was no good. 

 Bonners Ferry answered with three minutes remaining in the first quarter, Tiger running back Vaughn Higgins scoring on a 2-yard run.

 Tiger running back Cooper Lenz scored on a 1-yard run early in the second, but a bad snap killed the extra point attempt, leaving the score 13-6 Tigers, with 10:37 to go in the second.

 The Wolverines looked to be in trouble on their next possession, senior quarterback Andrew Enders forced to scramble after finding no open receivers. Senior running back Michael Youngberg adjusted his route, however, and headed up field along the sideline, giving Enders an opportunity. Youngberg caught the well-placed ball and took it to the endzone for an 80-yard touchdown. This time, junior kicker Ryndon Olsen made good on the extra point, tying the game 13-13.

 Bonners Ferry surprised the Weiser defense on a quick punt late in the second quarter, pinning the Wolverines on their own 4-yard line. Several plays, including a 24-yard pass to Jayden Walker, resulted in big gains down field.

 Enders, faced with a third and one, kept the ball, twisting his way through defenders for a 47-yard touchdown run with only 11 seconds remaining in the half. Olsen’s kick was good, making it 20-13 Weiser to end the half.

 Both teams continued trading scores in the second half, with Lenz scoring on a 76-yard run to tie the game at 20-20, and sophomore quarterback Kolin Cook finding Youngberg down field for an 11-yard touchdown, the Wolverines regaining the lead at 27-20.

 Weiser would take a two-score lead in the fourth quarter when junior running back Kaleb Grove scored on a 3-yard run, making it 34-20.

 The Tigers weren’t ready to give up, quarterback Cole Meidinger throwing an 8-yard touchdown pass to RajaNee Olivieru, with 2:15 left in the game. Bonners Ferry attempted an onside kick that was recovered by Grove. The Wolverines were then able to run the clock out.

 “We’ll take it,” Weiser head coach Tom Harrison said following the game. “It’s a playoff win, and they came through.”

 The Wolverines utilized second quarterback Kolin Cook throughout the game. Harrison said the strategy, which was also used against Fruitland the previous week, was meant to add another dimension to the offense.

 “He does good things for us and that way I can visit with Andrew a lot better,” Harrison said of Cook. “He had a great game. We can sort things out; we can get in and out and we don’t get penalties for delay of game, and we can go fast, that’s what we are doing. We are trying to play fast with what we’ve got.”

 Harrison added that the defense could have played better and that turnovers on offense hampered production.

 “I wasn’t happy with defense, and we had two fumbles,” he said. “Defensively, we’ve got work to do and offensively, we did good at times, but we were a little inconsistent.”

 Weiser had 479 yards of total offense, with a season high 171 yards passing and 308 yards rushing. Timberlake was able to generate 359 total offensive yards, with 127 through the air and 232 on the ground.

 Enders went 4 of 7 for 123 yards passing and 1 touchdown, while Cook ended the night completing 3 of 4 passes for 38 yards and a touchdown.

 Grove had a season-high 103 yards rushing on 21 attempts and 1 touchdown. Youngberg had 74 yards on 10 attempts.

 Youngberg also recorded 120 receiving yards on 4 receptions and 2 touchdowns.

 Cook led all tacklers with 6.5 total tackles and 6 solo.