THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: A road to a title for Tigers seems likely for time being

Making the playoffs hasn’t been an issue for the Timberlake High football team. 

The Tigers have made the state 3A playoffs every year but one since 2003. 

But lately, getting a home game in the playoffs has been an issue.

Since MaxPreps rankings have been used to seed the state playoffs in most divisions, including 3A (now 4A), Timberlake has usually found itself on the road come playoff time. 

Since 2019, Timberlake has played at home just twice in the five seasons MaxPreps rankings have been used to seed the playoffs. 

Prior to that, from 2004-18, Timberlake played 20 playoff games — 17 of them at home. 

12 of those times, the Tigers played their first playoff game at home because they won the Intermountain League, and the IML champ always got a home game to open the playoffs. 

The five other home games were a result of Timberlake being on the “top” end of the bracket. For years, the team at the top of the bracket was the home team, regardless of standing statewide. 

SINCE THEN ... 

In 2019, Timberlake won the IML and was the fourth seed in an 11-team playoff. The Tigers received a first-round bye, then beat No. 5 seed Weiser at home in the quarterfinals, then lost at top-seeded Homedale in the semis. 

In 2020, Timberlake won the IML but had to travel as the eighth seed, and lost at No. 1 Homedale in the quarterfinals. 

In 2021, Timberlake won the IML but had to travel as the seventh seed, and lost at No. 2 Gooding in the quarterfinals. 

In 2022, when Bonners Ferry won the IML, Timberlake figured it would have to travel and did so as the 11 seed, and lost at No.6 Weiser in the first round. 

In 2023, Timberlake won the IML but had to play in the first round because the Tigers were ranked fifth among the five district champions. The Tigers did get a home game, beating American Falls. But, because of its MaxPreps ranking, Timberlake was seeded eighth in the quarterfinals, and lost to top-seeded Sugar-Salem. 

THIS YEAR, the playoff format changes in what is now the 4A classification, but the gist is the same for teams like Timberlake. 

The 4A playoff field drops from 14 teams to 12. 

As in the past, all five district (league) champions get in automatically, and the rest of the field is determined by MaxPreps rankings — so a strong league like District 3 (Homedale, Fruitland, Weiser, etc.) could conceivably get all six teams into the playoffs. 

The top four teams statewide, based on MaxPreps rankings, receive first-round byes — whether they won their league or not, meaning, say, Teton and Sugar-Salem, both in District 6, could get first-round byes. 

Timberlake wasn’t a fan of the recent, MaxPreps-based format. The Tigers like this format even less. 

“Because it makes it even harder for us,” Timberlake football coach Kelly Amos said. “We’re not a big fan of the MaxPreps system because of some of the scheduling issues we have, and the scheduling advantage they have in the south. So, putting more weight on that MaxPreps system … it’ll be tougher for us to again secure home games in the playoffs. The possibility of us being in the top four is virtually impossible.” 

Why? 

Because Timberlake’s “league” the past couple of years has been the Tigers and Bonners Ferry. This year, Moscow joins the IML in football. In District 3 and in eastern Idaho, there are more good teams in those leagues, which helps those teams’ MaxPreps rankings.  

Timberlake tries to schedule tough in its nonleague games, but sometimes is at the mercy of who is available that week to play them, for better or worse. 

“We had a different proposal (for this year’s 4A playoffs),” Amos said. “We wanted to have district champions get first-round byes, and they wanted to go with MaxPreps rankings.” 

Guess who won out? 

“I guarantee you that,” Amos said, “in two years there are going to be some coaches who don’t like this system, because they’re going to be messed over.” 

TIMBERLAKE DOESN’T like the current playoff system, and who can blame the Tigers, but they know the one way to beat it. 

Just win, baby — though sometimes that might not be enough. 

"Truthfully, what it comes down to is, if we want to be in that upper group, we have to win games,” Amos said. “You can’t go into the playoffs at 6-4 and expect to be way up there.” 

Would an 8-1 regular season might be good enough for a top-four seed? 

No, Amos said.  

“Our example,” Amos said. “In 2019, 8-0, no close games and we were the fourth seed. Played Weiser, and went to Homedale. That’s the closest we’ve been.” 

The Tigers were hurt by playing a couple of schools in the regular season that, as it turned out,  didn’t have good seasons. 

But despite playing on the road, Timberlake has given the higher seeds trouble on occasion.  

In 2021 and ‘22, the Tigers lost by a touchdown each year, at Gooding and at Weiser. 

Even last year’s loss at perennial power Sugar-Salem was respectable at 48-21. 

So unless Timberlake can sway enough opinions to change the format, the Tigers’ road to a possible state title will be just that — via the road. 

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @CdAPressSports.