Big hit, big swing
Photo by JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Josh Yanez (88) of Timberlake catches a pass at the Weiser 1-yard line, covered by the Wolverines’ Kooper von Brethorst, late in the first half of a state 3A quarterfinal in Spirit Lake. Timberlake scored on the next play, Yanez forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, then caught a touchdown pass two plays later.
Photo by JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Louis Powell of Timberlake celebrates his 52-yard touchdown run late in the Tigers’ 42-33 victory over Weiser in Spirit Lake.
SPIRIT LAKE — Josh Yanez began the year on the kickoff coverage team at Timberlake High.
Around midseason, coaches took him off so the two-way starter could get a few plays of rest.
But an injury to another member of the coverage team put him back on the field for kickoffs for Saturday’s state 3A quarterfinal game vs. Weiser.
Good thing for the Tigers.
Late in the first half, Yanez forced a Wolverine fumble on a kickoff, then caught a touchdown pass moments later, part of a 14-point burst in a span of less than 20 seconds that gave Timberlake enough cushion to hold off Weiser 42-33 at Van Tuinstra Memorial Field and advance to the state semifinals for the second straight year.
“It was a real adrenaline charge,” Timberlake coach Roy Albertson said of Yanez’s special-teams play. “He’s a great tight end, and he’s a great outside ’backer. Yanez has made a lot of big plays for us all year, and in the tough games we’ve had to play, he was a real force.”
Timberlake (9-0) will travel to Homedale (10-0) next Saturday at noon PST for a state semifinal game. Homedale ended Timberlake’s season last year with a 35-20 victory in the semis at Spirit Lake.
Jeremy McLemore, who rushed 18 times for 60 of the hardest-earned yards you could imagine, plunged into the end zone from a yard out with 29.6 seconds left in the first half to put Timberlake up 28-21.
On the ensuing kickoff, Yanez knocked the ball loose from the Weiser kick returner, and Luke Fortin recovered at the Wolverines’ 20. Two plays later, quarterback Joey Follini rolled left and found Yanez open in the end zone for a 35-21 halftime lead.
“The coaches put me in there, because I think they wanted to get a big play,” said Yanez, a senior. “I hit him as hard as I could, and I looked up, and we have the ball.”
Moments later, Yanez was celebrating in the end zone.
“I couldn’t ask for anything more,” he said of those plays. “It gave us a huge boost going into the locker room.”
The high-scoring first half evolved into a rock ’em, sock ’em second half. Weiser (8-2) opened the half with a 72-yard, nine-play drive, all but one on the ground, capped by Layten Tolman’s 14-yard run. But Weiser missed the extra point, leaving the score at 35-27 Timberlake.
Follini was then picked off by Sy York at the Weiser 25, the first of three turnovers — two by the Tigers — in a span of eight plays. But the Wolverines couldn’t capitalize either time, despite having the ball in Timberlake territory.
Weiser drove 80 yards for a touchdown in three plays late in the fourth quarter. Brett Spencer hit Kooper von Brethorst on a 51-yard pass-and-run play, then connected with a wide-open Tim Reed for a 30-yard TD with 1:57 left.
Weiser ran an option play to the right on the PAT, but Timberlake stretched it out and stopped the pitch man a yard short, keeping the Tigers with a two-point lead.
Ashton Peightal of Timberlake recovered Weiser’s onside kick. On the next play, Louis Powell ran a counter and scooted 52 yards up the middle for a touchdown with 1:46 left. Left-footed Jack McDonald iced the game with his sixth PAT in as many tries.
The elusive Follini completed 16 of 21 passes for 181 yards, and also ran for 80 yards as he often broke contain and scrambled for chunks of yardage. Yanez caught six passes for 55 yards, and also had an interception on Weiser’s final possession, before the Tigers took a knee.
“We knew they were a very good team, and they had a lot of weapons, and lots of speed, and they have toughness — everything it takes,” Weiser coach Tom Harrison said. “The quarterback’s pretty dynamic; he made a lot of nice plays, and we knew he probably would.”
Spencer, a sophomore, completed 12 of 24 passes for 272 yards.
“Our quarterback couldn’t run anymore and that hurt us; he got hurt on a punt (in the first half),” Harrison said. “He came in and played (in the second half), but he couldn’t move.”
Timberlake outgained Weiser 440-403, holding the Wolverines to 124 rushing yards.
The Wolverines had two touchdowns after just four plays, both TD passes from Spencer.
“This was a good game for us to play. We haven’t had to play tough in well over a month,” Albertson said. “We came out soft. Those (two TD passes) were tough to give up, so early and so easy. But we were able to come back. We had two 80-yard drives after they scored.
Timberlake was close to unstoppable in the first half, scoring on five of its seven possessions and totaling 300 yards.
Weiser 14 7 6 6 — 33
Timberlake 14 21 0 7 — 42
First quarter
Wei — Layten Tolman 1 run (Angel Magana kick), 10:07
TL — Joey Follini 3 run (Jack McDonald kick), 5:11
Wei — Caleb Harris 58 pass from Brett Spencer (Magana kick), 4:17
TL — Louis Powell 12 pass from Follini (McDonald kick), 1:18
Second quarter
TL — Jeremy McLemore 47 pass from Follini (McDonald kick), 11:12
Wei — Tolman 11 run (Magana kick), 6:01
TL — McLemore 1 run (McDonald kick), :29.6
TL — Josh Yanez 5 pass from Follini (McDonald kick), 10.9
Third quarter
Wei — Tolman 14 run (kick failed), 7:24
Fourth quarter
Wei — Tim Reed 30 pass from Spencer (run failed), 1:57
TL — Powell 52 run (McDonald kick), 1:46
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Wei, Tolman 13-70, Burke 9-44, Spencer 2-7, Shirts 3-3. TL, Follini 13-80, Powell 5-62, McLemore 18-60, Billingsley 3-29, James 4-17, Larson 3-11.
PASSING — Wei, Spencer 12-24-2-272, York 1-1-0-7. TL, Follini 16-21-1-181, McDonald 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING — Harris 6-142, Reed 4-59, von Brethorst 2-59, Crimin 1-11. TL, Yanez 6-55, Powell 3-36, James 3-25, Bangs 1-3, Larson 1-15, McLemore 1-47, Billingsley 1-0.