Timberline started Friday with a disaster. It ended the night with a new record
Sometimes, it’s just your night. And Friday belonged to the Timberline High football team.
The Wolves put up a school-record point total in a 61-7 blowout win over Borah in the season opener for both teams at Dona Larsen Park, riding three special-teams touchdowns and a five-touchdown performance from quarterback Jack Brant.
Timberline coach Ian Smart said special teams often haunted the Wolves last year. But an offseason dedicated to the often forgotten part of the game paid dividends Friday.
“We have a mentality that we don’t have special teams anymore,” Timberline senior Sam Haener said. “We’ve got offense and defense. Every play, we’ve got all our starters out there, and we’re going to go hit them.”
The night actually started with a disaster on special teams as Benton Bates fumbled the opening kickoff. But Hudson Lewis dusted off the loose ball, threw a spin move on the charging Lions and broke down the Wolves’ sideline for a 78-yard touchdown return before many could even find their seat.
Despite the early highlight, Timberline nursed a two-touchdown lead with 3 minutes left in the second quarter. Then the wheels fell off for the Lions, and Timberline scored 28 points in just 3 minutes, 12 seconds of game time.
Haener, a UC Davis commit, lived up to his words by blocking a punt deep in Borah territory, and Shawn Barsness jumped on the loose ball in the end zone for a 27-7 lead with 2:48 until halftime.
Haener then recovered a fumbled snap three plays later, setting up a 1-yard touchdown catch by Lewis with 7 seconds left. But the Wolves weren’t done yet.
Borah failed to recover the ensuing squib kick, and Austin Engroff took advantage of the mental lapse to give Timberline one last shot with 2 seconds before halftime. Brant couldn’t find anyone open, but the senior scrambled and extended plays all night, none more impressive than his 24-yard touchdown pass to Hayden Hills to make it 41-7.
Timberline kept pouring it on after halftime, too, as Lucas Thompson returned an interception 54 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage after the break.
“Those defensive guys have really bought into the idea that special teams have to be a difference,” Smart said. “You just saw that the intensity they played with created some big turnovers at big moments in the game.
“It just kind of unlocked the game at a certain point, where it was still pretty tight and competitive. And all of a sudden, you just look up and it’s kind of out of control.”
Timberline built a 41-point lead on Thompson’s interception return. But the running-clock mercy rule in the 6A SIC doesn’t start until the fourth quarter, prolonging the blowout.
Brant added a 2-yard touchdown pass to Evan Paschke, and Jaden Acosta blocked another punt, setting up Hudson Fish for an 8-yard return score in the fourth quarter.
The win proved cathartic for a program that served as an afterthought in the Treasure Valley for many of its previous 27 years. The Wolves went a combined 1-17 in 2022 and ‘23, and many seniors cut their teeth on the 2023 squad.
“From our sophomore year, we kept receipts,” Haener said. “And we’re just ready to cash in on them.”
Timberline hung 61 points on the scoreboard but didn’t need to put up gaudy offensive numbers to do it, finishing with just 364 yards of offense and 12 first downs.
Brant completed 10-of-19 passes for 195 yards. Lewis hauled in five catches for 112 yards and two touchdowns, and Brody Engroff ran for 102 yards on nine carries.
But for all the highlights, the Wolves left plenty of points on the field with early-season rust.
“I feel like we’ve got a lot to work on,” Lewis said. “There were a lot of mistakes. We had a lot of penalties we shouldn’t have had. But this is a good stepping stone.”
BORAH LEADERS
The Lions struggled to find a rhythm all night, tallying 131 total yards and five first downs on the final scoresheet.
Senior running back Ian Houlk served as the lone bright spot, breaking free for a 65-yard touchdown in the second quarter. He ended up with 74 yards on eight carries, and Kage Alexander made a pair of highlight catches for 47 yards.
This story was originally published August 29, 2025 at 11:31 PM.
