Badger football makes history: Undefeated and league champs
SPIRIT LAKE — For the first time since 1975, the Badgers finished the regular season undefeated and have earned the Intermountain League football championship on Oct. 22 against the Timberlake Tigers.
The host Tigers pushed the unbeaten Badgers to the limit before the visitors scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 9-yard run by Blake Rice midway through the fourth quarter of the matchup between the only two football-playing teams remaining in the Intermountain League.
Both Bonners Ferry (8-0) and Timberlake (4-3), the only teams in the IML after Kellogg and Priest River dropped to the 2A Central Idaho League this fall, are headed to the state 3A playoffs, and will play in the quarterfinals.
The Badgers had turnovers on back-to-back drives in the third quarter.
Head coach Travis Hinthorn told the Herald the team knew with the clock winding down they wouldn’t get many more opportunities to score.
“Timberlake does a great job controlling the ball. Our last drive was just our players going with our T-shirt motto 'BELIEVE,'” he said.
Senior quarterback Blake Rice threw for 121 yards and two touchdowns for the Badgers at Van Tuinstra Memorial Field.
Cole Meidinger threw for 118 yards and two touchdowns for Timberlake, which led 13-12 at halftime.
The last time the Badgers were league champions was in 2005, when coach Danny Swift was a senior. The Badgers are 8-0 and will play Wood River at home at noon Saturday in the first round of the state competition.
Members of the 1975 Badger football team will be recognized at the game.
Bonners Ferry 6 6 0 6 — 18
Timberlake 0 13 0 0 — 13
BF — Cleo Henslee 24 pass from Blake Rice (kick failed)
TL — Vaughn Higgins 8 pass from Cole Meidinger (V. Higgins kick)
BF — Josh Pinkerton 7 pass from Rice (conversion failed)
TL — Rajanee Olivieri 27 pass from Meidinger (conversion failed)
BF — Rice 9 run (conversion failed)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — BF, Rice 15-99, Bollscweiller 2-3. TL, Lenz 16-55, V. Higgins 11-22, H. Higgins 9-15, MacArthur 2-5, Wells 2-(-1), Meidinger 1-(-2).
PASSING — BF, Rice, 8-11-1-121. TL, Meidinger, 10-18-118.
RECEIVING — BF, Banning 2-25, Bollscweiller 1-14. TL, Olivieri 4-44, V. Higgins 4-39, Yetter 1-21, Lenz 1-14.
