Every play counts
Touchdown on last play of half sparks Timberlake to
victory over district rival Lakeland
By JASON ELLIOTT
Sports writer
RATHDRUM — Against your rivals, you can’t take a single play off, no matter how much time remains on the scoreboard.
Likewise, until the clock hits all zeros, don’t think it’s over quite yet.
After a scoreless opening quarter, the Timberlake Tigers waited until the final play of the first half, then had to hold on late to a 31-28 nonleague win against the Lakeland Hawks at Corbit Field.
Brandon Hausladen scored on a 65-yard run as the first half expired to give Timberlake a 17-13, just seconds after Joshua Brandt caught an 18-yard pass from Ryan Pote to put Lakeland ahead for the first time of the night at 13-10 with nine seconds remaining in the half.
“That was a painful play for us,” Lakeland coach Tim Kiefer said. “We need to learn to play a full game. With a little more experience, they can see where they can let down. But with our youth, we can’t afford to take a play off.”
Lakeland junior Jared Walker, who came in at quarterback in the fourth quarter, ran for a pair of touchdowns to close the deficit to 31-28 with 17 seconds remaining, but the Hawks were unable to recover the onside kick.
“They’re a good program,” Timberlake coach Roy Albertson said. “They’ve had some losses against some big, really good teams. We knew that we’d have to play hard to beat these guys and we did a good job with Brandon coming in.”
Hausladen, normally a fullback, stepped in at quarterback for injured starter Ryan Starr, who broke his left ankle in a nonleague loss at Pullman on Sept. 25. He’s expected to miss four to five weeks.
“In the first half, there were some nerves at first,” Hausladen said of the transition. “But you know you’re teammates are looking up to you and know you need to step up and do a good job for them, so it got easier as the night went on.”
Hausladen finished with 201 yards rushing and three touchdowns and 60 yards passing, including a 28-yard touchdown pass to Derek Galloway on the first play of the second quarter.
“I thought Brandon played one hell of a game tonight,” Albertson said. “Our offensive line and running backs did a great job in Brandon’s first game at quarterback. It was some excellent playcalling, but in the first half, we kicked ourselves in the foot. But we played a much tighter game in the second half.”
Lakeland was held scoreless in the third quarter, falling behind 24-13 after three quarters.
“It’s a tough situation these guys are in, but they’ve handled it really well,” Kiefer said. “I can’t explain what happened in the third quarter offensively. We kind of took a hiatus there and maybe let some of the old habits back in. The kids played a lot better tonight and Jared did a great job running the no-huddle in that fourth quarter. I think we’re getting better. It’s just been a process. I know fans want it to be quicker, but the kids are working hard, the coaches are working hard, and we’re getting better.
“I’m glad to come out with a win,” Albertson said. “Our coaches did a great job with (Mike) Menti and the defense and (Brian) Kluss and the offense. They did a great job tonight.”
“We played really well as a team and executed well,” Hausladen said. “Our boys worked really hard. This was our biggest game of the year, and we worked hard, and it showed on the field. Playing Lakeland is the biggest adrenaline rush of the year. It’s hard sweat and tough on every down. You can’t take a play off.”
Timberlake (3-2) opens Intermountain League play next Friday, hosting Priest River. Lakeland (0-6) visits Sandpoint in the 4A Inland Empire League opener for both schools.
“We’re going to have to play a lot cleaner game than we did tonight to beat Sandpoint,” Kiefer said. “I don’t know if we’re right where we want to be, but we’re getting better. It’s a credit to the kids and the community. We just need to find a way to play a complete game.”
Timberlake 0 17 7 7 — 31
Lakeland 0 13 0 15 — 28
Second quarter
TL — Derek Galloway 28 pass from Brandon Hausladen (Cody Bentley kick), 11:47.
LL — Dylan Vahey 4 run (Trevor Karras kick), 8:15.
TL — FG, Bentley, 35, 1:47.
LL — Joshua Brandt 18 pass from Ryan Pote (run failed), :09.
TL — Hausladen 65 run (Bentley kick), :00.
Third quarter
TL — Hausladen 2 run (Bentley kick), 3:48.
Fourth quarter
TL — Hausladen 4 run (Bentley kick), 7:02.
LL — Jared Walker 5 run (Walker run), 4:56.
LL — Walker 3 run (Karras kick), :17.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — TL, Hausladen 23-201, Munson 10-68, McLemore 3-23, Wells 4-2, Duclos 1-(-4).
PASSING — TL, Hausladen, 3-9-0-60. LL, Pote, 3-9-0-8, Walker, 5-8-0-83.
RECEIVING — TL, Smith 1-14, Galloway 1-28, Wells 1-18. LL, Brandt 2-27, Davis 3-20, McDaniel 1-45, Dickens 1-18. LL, Dickens 1-6, McDaniel 8-32, Pote 14-77, Brandt 3-22, Vahey 3-15, Walker 7-28.