Back where they belong
MARK NELKE/Press Chase Gardom of Timberlake celebrates with his teammates after making the game-clinching interception Saturday vs. South Fremont.
MARK NELKE/Press Timberlake quarterback Joey Follini rolls out against South Fremont.
MARK NELKE/Press Timberlake's defense gang-tackles South Fremont quarterback Jace Neville in the second half.
MARK NELKE/Press Chase Gardom (22) celebrates Timberlake's win over South Fremont in a state 3A quarterfinal game in Spirit Lake.
SPIRIT LAKE — Apparently, missing the playoffs last year for the first time since 2002 didn’t sit too well with the Timberlake Tigers.
The Timberlake players put in the work in the offseason to get better, and a young team got a year older.
The result on Saturday — a 36-35 victory over the South Fremont Cougars of St. Anthony in a state 3A quarterfinal matchup Saturday afternoon at Van Tuinstra Memorial Field.
“That’s what we’ve been grinding about all season — just trying to come back and make a difference,” said Timberlake senior Chase Gardom, who scored a touchdown and had two of the Tigers’ four interceptions, the second one clinching the win with 52 seconds left. “The big problem last year was, we were a really young team, and we just needed to grow up a little bit. We took it upon ourselves to grow up and get in the weight room and get bigger and stronger and faster.”
Timberlake controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, and overcame some special-teams miscues by stopping South Fremont deep in Timberlake territory in the fourth quarter when the Cougars were bidding to take the lead.
“We made the big play at the right time; a little luck there,” Timberlake coach Roy Albertson said. “We were great on offense, and we were great on defense, and we have some work to do on special teams.”
Timberlake (7-3) will play host to top-ranked Homedale (10-0) on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Spirit Lake. It will be the Tigers’ first appearance in the semifinals since 2012.
Sophomore Jeremy McLemore rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries for Timberlake. His 20-yard burst for a score on the first drive of the second half broke a 21-all halftime tie.
Two plays after the ensuing kickoff, McLemore chased down South Fremont running back Kyler Yancey on a sweep and tackled him in the end zone, boosting Timberlake’s lead to 29-21.
But the Tigers couldn’t do anything following the free kick, and South Fremont (6-4) responded with two scoring drives to take a 35-29 lead. Quarterback Jace Neville, who ran for four touchdowns, scored on a 3-yard keeper, and Yancey put the Cougars ahead with a 4-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Timberlake answered with a 75-yard drive, helped by two personal-foul penalties against South Fremont. Louis Powell ran it in from 13 yards out with 8:05 left to tie the game. Senior quarterback Joey Follini, whom the Tigers trained to place-kick after having to go for two most of the season, booted the extra point for what turned out to be the game-winning point.
After an exchange of punts, South Fremont took over at the Timberlake 36 with 4:02 left. The Cougars drove to the 10, where on second and 3 the Tigers got penetration, Neville fumbled behind the line and Andrew Cazier recovered for Timberlake at the 17.
“It was awesome,” Gardom said. “It felt good to be able to make a stand like that in a dire situation like that.”
It was South Fremont’s fifth turnover of the game.
“Too many mistakes,” seventh-year South Fremont coach Chad Hill said. “They (the Tigers) just do a good job up front; they were very physical on the line of scrimmage. And they do a good job keeping you off balance. Their D-ends gave us fits all day; they were in our quarterback’s face on every handoff, it seemed.”
South Fremont got the ball back with 1:28 left, but Neville’s deep pass down the middle was easily picked off by Gardom at the Tigers’ 38.
South Fremont led 21-13 late in the first half. But Timberlake tied it on a hook-and-lateral play, Follini to Tanner Larson to Gardom, who took it the final 30 yards down the sideline. Follini ran in the two-point conversion.
Timberlake outgained South Fremont 411-299 in total yardage. Two of the Cougars’ “drives” were of 10 and 5 yards, after a blocked punt and a long kickoff return, respectively.
Follini and Dylan Kluss, another senior, each had an interception for Timberlake.
“We have a really good group of seniors, and in this game they were our leaders,” Albertson said.
South Fremont 7 14 6 8 — 35
Timberlake 7 14 8 7 — 36
First quarter
SF — Jace Neville 2 run (Martin Gatica kick), 8:29
TL — Jeremy McLemore 5 run (Joey Follini kick), 4:23
Second quarter
SF — Neville 9 run (Gatica kick), 8:47
TL — J.T. Wilfong 55 run (kick failed), 8:01
SF — Neville 3 run (Gatica kick), 7:11
TL — Chase Gardom 30 lateral (Follini run), 1:49
Third quarter
TL — McLemore 20 run (kick failed), 9:59
TL — Safety McLemore tackle in end zone, 9:09
SF — Neville 3 run (run failed), 3:08
Fourth quarter
SF — Kyler Yancey 4 run (Talon Maupin pass from Neville), 11:55
TL — Louis Powell 13 run (Follini kick), 8:05
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — SF, Olson 11-80, Neville 23-52, Maupin 1-5, Yancey 7-8. TL, Powell 6-30, McLemore 21-107, Gardom 6-71, Wilfong 4-60, Follini 12-18, Boesl 1-2, Larson 1-0.
PASSING — SF, Neville 11-24-4-114, Yancey 1-1-0-28. TL, Follini 12-20-0-115, Gardom 0-1-0-0, Powell 1-1-0-6.
RECEIVING — SF, Maupin 1-11, Thueson 2-27, Yancey 4-27, Duncan 5-77. TL, Yanez 4-54, Powell 1-10, Larson 3-23, Wilfong 2-11, Kluss 2-17, Follini 1-6.