The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT September 22, 2010

Flat amazing.

Four days later, I still can't believe just how the nonleague football game between the Lakeland Hawks and Timberlake Tigers concluded.

THERE IS a good chance that if you missed it, you'll never see anything like it again.

As rivals seem to do, both get fired up for the game, which was the case last Friday at Van Tuinstra Memorial Field in Spirit Lake.

Both teams entered the game winless, but if you'd asked them, it wouldn't have mattered.

It was all about getting the win on Friday.

Lakeland's offense got out to a quick start as quarterback Eric Cooper hit Cory Thorne on a 74-yard pass to set up a 16-yard touchdown run by Brendon Kedish to take the early lead.

Timberlake battled back in the second quarter, driving down the field to put the Tigers on top following a conversion. The Tigers looked to take the momentum, scoring again to take a 14-7 lead into halftime.

WHATEVER WAS said during the half must have motivated everyone involved as both battled for every yard, each possession - until the other team blinked.

Neither did.

As both teams continued to battle, there were some penalties, also some turnovers, but that momentum never steered from either school.

Just as though it seemed as Lakeland was about to close the game out, a simultaneous catch gave the Timberlake Tigers a new life.

On the next play, Timberlake quarterback Brian Cronnelly found Josh Zaroni on a 12-yard pass to give the Tigers a 26-21 lead with 44 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

With Lakeland having to drive 60 yards, things weren't looking good. But a couple of big plays later, the Hawks found themselves on the 26-yard line with eight seconds left.

Cooper scrambled around the pocket to find wide receiver Gaige Grey, who came up a foot short of the end zone. After both teams exchanged timeouts, Thorne plowed into the end zone on the final play of the game to give the Hawks a 27-26 win.

I HAVE witnessed some high-scoring football games - a 71-58 final between Potlatch and Wallace, and a 92-46 game between Mullan and St. Regis - but Friday night's game was different.

Both teams played as if the season depended on winning or losing - despite both not having played a league game yet.

Both schools will improve from the outcome, whether it's the amount of turnovers or penalties within scoring range.

If it's an indication of how the rest of the season will go, don't miss another second.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d'Alene Press. He can be reached by phone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020, or via e-mail at jelliott@cdapress.com.