'Get well, Alby'

RATHDRUM — While a football game was played eventually, the focus for a few seconds turned to who wasn’t on the sidelines on Friday night at Corbit Field.

Timberlake, playing without coach Roy Albertson, who suffered a heart attack before Tuesday’s practice and underwent triple-bypass surgery on Wednesday, was remembered with a “Get Well Alby” helmet sticker, worn by both the Lakeland Hawks and Tigers.

“I missed his voice, I missed him being on the other sideline,” Lakeland coach Tim Kiefer said. “It was definitely a more quiet sideline over there. Whatever they work on during the week, you can always hear Alby yelling, watch this, or watch that. And I missed it. I wish him the best and think he’ll make a full recovery. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s on their sideline next weekend.”

As for the game, Lakeland overcame two turnovers to beat the visiting Tigers 45-21 in a nonleague game.

“We can’t seem to get out of our own way,” Kiefer said. “It was just us shooting ourselves in the foot, over and over again. Credit to Timberlake. They’re a tough team that’s going to be tough to beat in the future. In the end, our guys got it done, and I’m proud of that. We’ve got to find a way to shake the miscues, the fumbles, the penalties and that. We’re a good football team, and I’m convinced of that, but we need to get out of our own way.”

Lakeland capitalized on a turnover on a punt return, capping a drive on a touchdown run by Tony Wilmoth. Timberlake kept it to a one-score game at 26-21 after three quarters, but was outscored 19-0 in the fourth quarter. Timberlake was hurt by three turnovers in the game.

“Our kids played with a ton of heart tonight,” Timberlake offensive coordinator and interim head coach Brian Kluss said. “They played as hard as they could. We did not come on top, but you can’t have that many mistakes. When you’re playing against a team that Lakeland can do, we’ve got to do a better job of taking care of things.”

Christian Suko took a carry 75 yards to set up a touchdown run by Josh Brandt to give Lakeland an early 14-7 lead. Wyatt Gatten scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter to put the game away for Lakeland.

“Running the ball, we’ve always been a decent team in that regard,” Kiefer said. “Our receivers dropped some passes, a few for touchdowns. You just can’t drop the ball like that and we’ve got to get it done in that regard. If we catch those passes, it’s a different game in that regard.”

Sophomore Jeremy McLemore finished with 124 yards rushing and three touchdowns for Timberlake. Tiger quarterback Joey Follini, also a sophomore, had 139 yards rushing in the loss.

“Those are good sophomores right there,” Kluss said. “We’ve got some good juniors that are getting better.”

Timberlake (0-4) opens Intermountain League play next Friday, hosting Kellogg.

Lakeland (1-4) hosts Moscow next Friday in the 4A Inland Empire League opener for both.

Timberlake 7 7 7 0 — 21

Lakeland 14 6 6 19 — 45

First quarter

TL — Jeremy McLemore 15 pass from Joey Follini (Isaiah Higbee kick), 9:30

LL — Tony Wilmoth 5 run (Collin Bell kick), 5:22

LL — Josh Brandt 3 run (Bell kick), 2:37

Second quarter

TL — McLemore 2 run (Higbee kick), 8:30

LL — Curtis Johnson 77 pass from Logan Siegford (kick failed), 7:29

Third quarter

LL — Brandt 9 run (run failed), 4:28

TL — McLemore 28 run (Higbee kick), 2:00

Fourth quarter

LL — Wilmoth 1 run (kick failed), 10:01

LL — Wyatt Gatten 5 run (kick failed), 3:12

LL — Gatten 25 run (Bell kick), 1:30

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — TL, Larson 4-(-8), Wilfong 2-3, McLemore 22-124, Follini 17-139, McDonald 1-6, Gardom 3-28. LL, Siegford 2-17, Gatten 7-62, Brandt 18-73, Norman 6-36, McArthur 2-1, Allen 3-25, Wilmoth 6-12, Suko 5-113.

PASSING — TL, Follini, 7-14-1-58. LL, Siegford, 7-15-0-136.

RECEIVING — TL, Kluss 1-3, McLemore 3-26, Foote 2-21, Wilfong 1-8. LL, Johnson 2-89, McArthur 4-21, Suko 1-26.