Bonners Ferry football team loses final game of the season

The Bonners Ferry football team lost their last game of the season to Priest River at home on Friday, Oct. 21. It was a chilly autumn evening and the stakes were high: winner goes on to play for a shot at the state tournament, loser packs it up for the year.

After four quarters of hard fought football, the Badgers just couldn’t seal the deal.

The highschool celebrated senior night before the kick off, and Bonners Ferry’s confidence level was the highest it’s been all season after coming off their first win against Kellogg last week. They knew that none of their past losses mattered as much as the outcome of this particular game, especially the seniors who could almost taste the end-of-season redemption.

Players from Priest River, on the other hand, were seeking their own sort of redemption. The away team couldn’t help looking back on last year’s final game of the season, when the Badgers came back from a huge deficit to win it in the final minutes.

Bonners Ferry drew first blood on Friday night with a minute left in the first quarter. Both defenses showed up big at the start of the game, but after a series of back-and-forth three-and-outs, Nick Saban finally broke loose and the senior tailback wasn’t taken down until he was deep in Spartan territory. Saban was then able to punch it into the endzone, giving Bonners Ferry a 6-0 lead as the first quarter came to a close.

It wasn’t long until Priest River’s secondary made a big play, however, picking off Caleb Stockton’s throw just one minute into the second quarter. The Spartans then proceeded to work their way into the endzone, tacking on the extra point to bring the score to 6-7. Unfortunately for the Badgers’ offense, this would not be their last turnover of the game.

Bonners Ferry received the kick and began pushing downfield with Saban leading the charge. End-arounds intermixed with runs straight up the gut kept the Spartans’ linebackers guessing, and solid blocking by the Badgers’ offensive line kept the defense on their heels all drive. Tensions mounted in the Spartans’ red zone, with Bonners Ferry receiving a penalty after converting a huge play on fourth down.

It was then, with the first half nearing its end and less than 15 yards to go, that the Badgers’ offense made what might have been their best play of the game: Caleb Stockton lines up in the shotgun formation and takes the snap; he rolls out of the pocket to escape the oncoming rush and fires a high ball at the endzone, but before the fans have a chance to gasp, thinking Stockton’s throw is off target, Isaac Lavala leaps up and reaches for it, extending a full two heads above his coverage; he comes down with the ball, falling on his back in the endzone. Touchdown Badgers.

The crowd erupted as Lavala got to his feet, with the scoreboard behind him reading 12-7. Bonners Ferry then decided to go for the two-point conversion but failed, giving them a five-point lead going into halftime.

The Badgers’ offense took the field with momentum on their side after receiving the kick to start the second half. It didn’t carry them very far, however, and they were forced to punt the ball to the Spartans, who dropped a long bomb on the Badgers’ secondary almost instantly. An unsuccesful two-point conversion attempt brought the score to 12-13.

As the seconds ticked away in the third quarter, the Bonners Ferry team steadily lost control of the ball game. Failure to convert on third downs, along with a string of penalties on both sides of the ball and a fumble on offense cost them dearly in the third quarter. Although Priest River only scored one touchdown during that time, they shoved the ball down the Badgers’ throats all quarter-long and they certainly looked like the better team out there.

For Badgers fans in the stands, that third quarter felt longer than the whole first half.

While the Spartans didn’t exactly dominate the fourth quarter, they made the best of the opportunities given to them, scoring once and controlling the pace of the game on offense, and forcing two interceptions on defense. The second was the nail in Bonners Ferry’s coffin.

There was, however, a glimmering moment toward the end of the game when it seemed like the Badgers might repeat last year’s epic comeback. With the scoreboard reading 21-12, Bonners Ferry was looking at a two-posession deficit when their linebackers fired up and drove the Spartans back into their own endzone, sacking the quarterback for a safety and putting the Badgers’ offense in perfect position to either tie up the game or win it.

Chris Saban, who replaced Stockton at the quarterback position, made a valiant effort, leading a solid drive downfield and letting loose a long ball on third and long. A Priest River cornerback intercepted the hail mary, however, putting an end to any playoff hopes the Badgers might have had this season.