STATE 3A FOOTBALL QUARTERFINALS: Timberlake battles, but falls short to Gooding

GOODING — Timberlake, seeded seventh in the state 3A football playoffs, did almost everything it needed to do to stun the second seeded and unbeaten Gooding Senators on Friday night.

Timberlake missed on a pass to the end zone on a 4th and 12 with five minutes remaining, and Gooding ran out the clock in a 28-21 win in the state 3A quarterfinals.

“The kids just played as hard as they could the entire game,” Timberlake coach Kelly Amos said. “I’m super proud of how they played. They gave us as much effort as they had.”

Timberlake senior wide receiver Zach Yetter had 126 yards receiving for one touchdown.

“He’s been big for us all year, and even last year,” Amos said. “He’s got great speed, with ability to get open and great hands. He had a couple of times when they were all over him and still made the play. He’s just a good receiver.”

Senior running back James Billingsley ran for 96 yards and two touchdowns for Timberlake, which finishes 6-3.

Gooding senior fullback Tayten Gillette ran for 129 yards and Colston Loveland, who has committed to Michigan, ran for 61 yards. Gooding (9-0) will host Weiser (10-1) in a semifinal game next week.

“We knew they were very big and outmanned us size wise,” Amos said. “Their QB (Kurtis Adkinson) weighs about 250 pounds, and we could not slow him or No. 5 (Loveland) down. We just could not slow down that run game, and it was a huge difference in the game. We put ourselves in position to win and our offense was able to move the ball. But we just could not get the ball back. Kudos to them, they’ve got some dudes, and they use them.”

This fall, the Idaho High School Activities Association adopted using MaxPreps rankings to seed teams in the playoffs. In previous years, Timberlake was guaranteed to play its first playoff game at home, but had to travel this year.

“We had a good season and the kids worked hard,” Amos said. “It’s kind of bittersweet to lose, but to come in as the seventh seed and have the chance to win the game, that’s a good deal.”

Timberlake 8 6 7 0 — 21

Gooding 8 14 6 0 — 28

First quarter

Good — Kurtis Adkinson 3 run (Colston Loveland run)

TL — James Billingsley 5 run (Billingsley run)

Second quarter

Good — Tayten Gillette 32 run (Adkinson run)

Good — Gillette 10 run (run failed)

TL — Zach Yetter 41 pass from Ashton Peightal (run failed)

Third quarter

Good — Adkinson 5 run (run failed)

TL — Billingsley 10 run (Joseph Borges kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — TL, Billingsley 14-96, Paslay 7-50, Woodworth 2-17, MacArthur 1-2, Peightal 2-(-9). Good, Gillette 18-129, Loveland 12-61, Adkinson 23-143.

PASSING — TL, Peightal, 6-14-2-126. Good, Adkinson, 2-5-2-32.

RECEIVING — TL, Yetter 6-126. Good, Loveland 2-32.