How Timberline shook off its big-game struggles to upset No. 1 Rocky Mountain
Friday started like so many big games for the Timberline High football team — with a punch in the gut.
No. 1-ranked Rocky Mountain returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown at Dona Larsen Park. But instead of folding, the Wolves shook off the miscue, forced three early turnovers and kept the Grizzlies’ high-powered run game in check to pull off a 31-20 upset.
The victory clinched No. 4-ranked Timberline (7-1, 4-1 Foothills) a first-round playoff bye and a spot in next week’s 6A SIC championship game, where it will travel to face No. 2-ranked Eagle (8-0).
“Those are backbreakers for Timberline in the past,” Wolves coach Ian Smart said. “You come out against a big-time opponent in a big game, and you give up a kick return for a touchdown, and you go, ‘Oh, no,’”
“But to our kids’ credit, man, they just stuck with it.”
Timberline football long remained an afterthought in the 6A Southern Idaho Conference. The Wolves went a combined 1-17 in 2022 and ‘23 before making the playoffs last fall. The league’s coaches voted Timberline a surprising, to some, third this year in the preseason poll — tied for the highest in program history. But the question lingered: Could the Wolves deliver in a big game?
Timberline answered that Friday, clinching the first division or league crown in program history while snapping a 13-game losing streak to Rocky Mountain (7-1, 4-1) that stretched back to 2012.
The Wolves snatched control of the game early despite Owen Oelkers’ 89-yard kick return, jumping out to a 24-7 lead in the first quarter as Timberline’s state-leading defense forced three turnovers in the opening 13 minutes.
The crucial one saw safety Karl Fransen rip the ball out of Rocky Mountain quarterback Kaelan Custer’s hands before scooping up the fumble and returning it 63 yards for a touchdown.
“To be honest, I blacked out,” Fransen said. “That changed the game. Last year, we didn’t have a lot of turnovers on our varsity squad. We’ve really been working on the turnovers. We’ve been punching at everything.”
The three takeaways added to Timberline’s 6A-leading total of 15 and forced Rocky Mountain’s powerful run game to play from behind all night. The Grizzlies finished with 189 yards on the ground, well short of their state-leading 309 average. And Rocky Mountain failed to break any play longer than 17 yards.
Smart credited his academic state champion squad for executing a complicated game plan and holding the 6A’s top-scoring offense (44.9 ppg) in check.
“We went from three down (linemen) to four down to five down,” Smart said. “We brought six. We dropped eight (into coverage). We just tried to make it so they couldn’t kind of see what are they giving us.
“I wanted them to guess every time. Sometimes you guess wrong, and they get a big play. But you kind of had to live with that, because I don’t think that we were just going to be able to line up — play in, play out — and just knock them off the ball.”
Meanwhile, Timberline’s offense turned over a new leaf and delivered a back-breaking touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. The Wolves mounted a 16-play, 80-yard drive that drained 10:06 off the clock before quarterback Jack Brant hit tight end Nash O’Kelley from 14 yards out for his third touchdown catch of the night with 3:16 left.
O’Kelley tormented the Rocky Mountain defense in the red zone all night long, hauling in five passes for 59 yards. Brant said the Grizzlies devoted so many resources to covering star receiver Hudson Lewis that it left O’Kelley in mismatches, and the Idaho commit made Rocky pay.
“They put the corner and the safety (on Lewis), and that opens up the middle of the field,” Brant said. “And when you’ve got (O’Kelley) one-on-one with a linebacker, I like that all day.”
Brant finished 23-for-35 for 260 yards and three touchdowns. Austin Engroff ran for 93 yards on 20 carries, including 68 yards on 15 carries in the second half. And Lewis hauled in seven catches for 101 yards as the Wolves made all those losing seasons and big-game disappointments seem like a distant memory Friday.
“I’m just proud of the kids, proud of what they do,” Smart said while fighting back tears. “... They started it as freshman, went undefeated there. They just stick together. It’s just fun to be a part of their journey.”
ROCKY MOUNTAIN FINISHES SECOND
The loss dropped the Grizzlies into second place in the final 6A SIC Foothills Division standings. They will host Kuna next week in the SIC’s Week 9 cross-division games. The winner clinches an automatic playoff berth.
Rasean Jones led Rocky Mountain with 89 total yards on 10 offensive touches, hauling in an 18-yard touchdown pass from Oelkers on a trick play.
Custer ran for a team-high 78 yards on 14 carries, Oakley Baxter ran for 69 yards on 11 carries, and Sawyer McLinden added field goals of 33 and 47 yards. But the Grizzlies’ defense struggled to get off the field as Timberline converted 10-of-11 third-down opportunities.
This story was originally published October 17, 2025 at 11:56 PM.
