Prep football recap: Timberline storms past Borah. Centennial snaps skid. Eagle hangs on.
Timberline capitalized on explosive plays to capture a 48-29, season-opening victory over crosstown rival Borah on Friday at Dona Larsen Park.
Five of Timberline’s seven touchdowns came on plays of 45 yards or more, including Taylor Marcum’s 80-yard kickoff return in the first quarter and 60-yard TD run in the third.
Quarterback Wade Zenner put the Wolves ahead for good, 28-22, on a 56-yard run just before halftime. It was the first of four straight Timberline touchdowns spanning the first and second halves.
Zenner finished 11-for-19 passing for 195 yards and two touchdowns through the air, both of which went to Anthony Bridges (5 rec., 130 yards) on tosses of 49 and 45 yards. Zenner collected another 67 yards on the ground and a pair of rushing TDs.
Marcum, a Montana State commit, ran for 94 yards and two TDs on 11 carries, while the Wolves sacked Borah quarterback Korbin McCarney seven times and totaled three takeaways.
Despite constant pressure, McCarney completed 15-of-21 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns. Junior running back Parker Rushton paced the Lions on the ground with 70 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries while also grabbing an interception on defense.
Centennial 57, Owyhee 30
The Centennial defense created four turnovers to snap its 12-game losing streak.
Sophomore defensive end Fabrice Ndaitouroum started the second half with a 20-yard scoop and score for the Patriots, and junior cornerback Ben Conder returned an interception 65 yards for a TD to hit the 50-point mark.
Orlando Clay added two rushing touchdowns, and Centennial coach Matt Greene said quarterback Keyon Horton’s “great leadership” helped the offense rack up five scores.
Eagle 35, Bishop Kelly 33
The Mustangs scored 21 points in the third quarter and survived a last-second field goal to edge Bishop Kelly in just the second meeting between the two perennial powers.
Eagle (1-0) senior quarterback Jack Benson led the way, completing 10-of-15 passes for 192 yards and two TDs. He also ran for 71 yards and a score.
Eagle’s Deagan Martinho added 93 yards and two TDs on seven carries, and Ethan Mikita ran for 61 yards and a touchdown on two carries.
Bishop Kelly (0-1) racked up 558 yards of offense in the losing effort. Senior running back Seth Knothe did most of the damage, running for 307 yards and all five TDs.
Skyview 41, Columbia 6
Skyview picked off three interceptions and held Columbia to a single touchdown in this season opener between city rivals.
Quarterback Max Cutforth and running back Antonio Fifta each scored two rushing touchdowns for the Hawks, and Fifta racked up 100 yards on 13 carries.
Cutforth also tossed an 8-yard TD pass to TerRyek Pennington to open the scoring, and Ayden Martinez returned an interception 48 yards for a TD.
Columbia’s lone touchdown came midway through the second quarter on a 7-yard pass from Matthew Davis to Trey Weaver.
Emmett 42, Boise 7
Quarterback Caden Young racked up 316 total yards and five TDs to lead the Huskies to a rout.
He ran for 190 yards and three TDs to lead an Emmett rushing attack that finished with 406 yards and five TDs while averaging 8.9 yards per carry. Young also went 8-for-18 for 126 yards and two TDs through the air.
Stats for Boise were not reported.
Lewiston 49, Kuna 31
Kuna junior quarterback Cole Luekenga made quite a starting debut, finishing 27-of-48 for 403 yards and four TDs. But it wasn’t enough for the Kavemen (0-1) in Lewiston.
Luke Snarr proved to be his most dangerous target, turning three catches into 92 yards and two TDs. Brayden White and Victor Villareal also caught touchdowns, and Gus Austin finished with six catches for 102 yards.
Middleton 40, Elko (Nev.) 7
Ky McClure tied the Elko defense in knots.
The Middleton quarterback had a hand in all six of the Vikings’ touchdowns, throwing for four scores and running for two more.
McClure went 23-for-36 passing for 253 yards and gained another 60 yards on the ground. Tyler Medaris caught two of those TD passes and finished with 47 receiving yards.
The Vikings led 26-0 at halftime and 33-0 near the end of the third quarter before Elko finally found the end zone.
Twin Falls 28, Vallivue 14
Vallivue came up short in a nonconference road opener against Twin Falls.
The Falcons trailed 14-6 at halftime, and that deficit grew to as much as 28-6 midway through the fourth quarter.
Casey Cope hit Dre Gonzalez with an 8-yard TD pass just before halftime, and Vallivue’s other score came on a 15-yard run from Brandon Bailey with 5:03 to play.
COVID-19 issues cancel Ridgevue’s opener
The Warhawks called off their season opener at Century due to nine positive COVID-19 tests in the program. Ridgevue coach Tom DeWitz said the Warhawks had to make the decision a week ahead to give Century time to find another opponent, adding Ridgevue canceled the trip to Pocatello out of precaution.
“Putting all our guys on a bus for four hours to Pocatello didn’t seem like the right thing to do,” DeWitz told the Idaho Statesman.
DeWitz added a couple more players have tested positive since then. But he expects the bulk of the players to get medically cleared in time for next week’s game against Timberline at Dona Larsen Park.
“We had six of them, at least, come back this week. So we’re getting most of them back,” DeWitz said. “And we’re expecting everybody to be back soon.”
Homedale 36, Caldwell 24
Rylan Binford averaged nearly 9 yards per carry to spearhead Homedale’s nonconference victory. Binford totaled 179 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries, while also hauling in three passes for 38 yards and another score.
Jaxon Dines guided the Trojans under center, completing 9-of-11 passes for 147 yards and two TDs. Dines also added 50 yards on the ground.
Caldwell’s Matthew Vialet eclipsed 100 yards rushing, collecting 119 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.
Fruitland 20, Melba 16
With Melba threatening to score from the Fruitland 5-yard line late in the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies came up with a win-preserving interception.
Fruitland led 14-8 at the half. No statistical information was provided for the Grizzlies.
Melba’s touchdowns came on a 12-yard pass from quarterback Cache Beus to Dillion Stosich in the first half and a 38-yard run by Gabe Shaffer in the second half. Trace Stimpson paced the Mustangs on the ground with 62 yards.
McCall-Donnelly 41, Orofino 0
McCall-Donnelly limited Orofino to just 79 yards of offense in a season-opening rout.
DJ Green collected 114 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries and also pulled down two TD receptions.
Vandals starting quarterback Josh Sorensen went 8-for-15 passing with a 10-yard TD toss to Green and added a 2-yard rushing touchdown before giving way to backup Thomas Knudson.
Knudson didn’t let up on the Maniacs, connecting with Green for a 14-yard score in the third quarter.
Nampa Christian 40, Wendell 12
Tied 6-6 early in the second quarter, Nampa Christian outscored Wendell 34-6 the rest of the way to seal the win.
Trojans quarterback Landon Cheney threw five touchdown passes — three to Josh Tiersma — to go 8-of-16 for 312 yards without an interception. Tiersma totaled 162 yards on four receptions.
On defense, Tiersma, Dane Bradshaw and Maiko Nevarez each grabbed an interception for the Trojans.
New Plymouth 12, Parma 0
New Plymouth clamped down on Parma defensively, holding the Panthers to just 24 total yards on 26 plays.
The Pilgrims kept the clock moving on offense with 46 running plays to just nine passing plays. Bailey Hite, who accounted for 81 of New Plymouth’s 212 rushing yards, scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter. Skyler Rodriguez extended the Pilgrims’ lead with a 10-yard TD run with 1:23 left in the game.
Notus 54, Tri-Valley 12
Notus had the victory in hand early, scoring 40 points in the first quarter and taking a 46-0 lead into halftime.
Carter Woodland had a monster game with 210 yards and four touchdowns on just 11 carries, and teammate Tristan Aspiazu had six touches for 134 yards.
The Pirates’ defensive effort was led by Julian Gallegos and Aaron Jiminez, who had five tackles and one sack apiece.
Horseshoe Bend 52, Idaho City 22
Horseshoe Bend dual-threat quarterback lead the Mustangs to a dominant win, passing for 179 yards and two touchdowns and running for 91 yards and another score.
Junior running back Blayne Meyer shared the offensive spotlight with 174 rushing yards and three TDs to go along with 108 receiving yards and another TD.
Senior defensive lineman Keegan Smith brought the pressure on defense, accounting for 15 tackles and two sacks.
More scores
No statistical information was provided from the following games:
- Weiser 35, Buhl 6
- Marsing 48, Valley 6
- Carey 52, Garden Valley 0
- Dietrich 52, Rimrock 8
- Hagerman 50, Greenleaf 26
- Wilder 52, Salmon River 0
This story was originally published August 28, 2021 at 1:06 AM.
