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Home » General NewsLoggers cut down Timberlake to open season on high noteSeptember 4, 2008 By Terry Werner of Northwest Montana “A” ConferenceLoggers cut down Timberlake to open season on high note Posted: Wednesday, Sep 03, 2008 - 10:41:53 am MDT By Brad Fuqua The Western News
Through preseason drills, Libby head coach Neil Fuller wasn’t sure what kind of team he would be able to put on the field. Graduation impacted his lineup, especially on the offensive line. But following a 27-12 season-opening victory over a quality Timberlake program on Saturday night, the Loggers seem headed in the right direction.“Going into this game, there were a lot of question marks,” Fuller said. “We started three sophomores with no varsity experience up front on the offensive line. James Nash had some experience as a starter on the defensive side but the offensive side is a whole different ballgame. Those three guys did a wonderful job along with Justin Graham and Brandin Mills.” Libby’s offense sputtered in the early going and even fumbled the ball away on the first play of the game. But the defense came up big time after time, shutting out the Tigers through the first three quarters and turning them away five of six times in the red zone. Timberlake, which hails from Spirit Lake, Idaho, put together a nine-play drive down to the Libby 3 after getting the short field. Both Conner Bensen and Joel Fuller came up with big tackles on third and fourth down, however, to turn away the visitors. “It would be nice to get more points on the board but our defense did good when we had everyone in there,” Joel Fuller said. “Offensively, we must’ve gotten tired or something but our defense did all right.” Libby took over after stuffing Timberlake on that possession and promptly drove 98 yards to the end zone. The key play of the drive – and perhaps the game – came on third-and-10 from the 2-yard line when Fuller found T.J. Benson on a sideline completion to move the chains. “We don’t really work on getting our feet down but he just did a really good job right there,” Joel Fuller said about the play. “They were bringing an outsize blitz so I just got outside of them and he was open.” Overall, the drive took 13 plays and was capped with an 11-yard touchdown run by Fuller. The Loggers converted on three third downs during the drive. “It just took a couple plays there to get things going,” Coach Fuller said. “T.J. Benson had a couple huge receptions and that was really big for us.” Libby took a 14-0 lead on its next offensive possession. The Loggers gained yardage in big chunks this time and scored in less than a minute. On a first down play from Libby’s own 48, Fuller scrambled out of the pocket and found Seth Wright on a 38-yard reception. Three plays later on third-and-21 after a holding penalty, Libby scored on a 25-yard toss from Fuller to Benson. “I thought it was going to be pretty tough because we lost a lot of guys from last year,” Benson said about the game. “But I felt we could step it up. Like all first games, we don’t play too hot at first but then we start playing good when we get the hang of it.” Timberlake put together another long drive into the red zone but again was turned away by the Libby “D.” On fourth-and-10 at the 18-yard line, Benson knocked down a Timberlake pass to end the threat. Libby scored two more touchdowns before intermission. With 4:28 left in the half, Fuller hooked up with Benson on a 31-yard strike. Just over two minutes later, special teams came through when Fuller returned a punt 65 yards to paydirt. Timberlake drove inside the 10-yard line in the final seconds but the Loggers again turned away the opposition. On fourth down from the six-yard line, QB Brian Maldonado dropped back but couldn’t get a good pass off because of intense pressure from Libby’s Wright. Fuller had a hand in all four touchdowns – two by passing, one by rushing and the other on special teams. He threw for 208 yards on 10 completions with one interception. “We had the jitters early on but after we got it going a little bit, we started making some plays and getting into a groove,” he said. The offensive groove disappeared over the final two quarters. In the second half, Libby couldn’t find the end zone and picked up just one first down. “I was a little disappointed with how things went in the second half,” Coach Fuller said. “Our defense came out the first series and did a great job stopping them. We dropped a couple passes that if we score there, we’re in great shape. But we dropped a couple balls and lost our momentum, lost our intensity. From an offensive standpoint, we weren’t very sharp and let them hang around.” The Tigers had their chances to get back into the game. Late in the third quarter, Timberlake put together a long drive down inside the Libby 5. On fourth-and-one at the 2, the Loggers swarmed quarterback Derek Puckett and took over on downs. The Loggers got a break when Evan O’Brien fell on a Timberlake fumble. The offense moved the chains once on a 10-yard jaunt by Colton Cannon, who saw considerable time at QB in the second half. Timberlake’s defense stiffened, however, and forced the Loggers to punt. “I think we just got flat. We thought we had it so we didn’t play as hard as we did in the first half,” Benson said. “We didn’t run plays like we should have Š we took plays off and that’s why we didn’t score.” The Tigers scored twice in the fourth quarter – on a three-yard run by Puckett and a 31-yard pass from Maldonado to John Shaffer. Puckett and Maldonado alternated at quarterback all night for Timberlake. The game ended in appropriate fashion – with a Libby sack. Maldonado dropped back to pass but went down hard on a sack by Alex Cislo. “If we’re going to be a championship team, we need to develop consistency throughout,” Coach Fuller said. “But considering the amount of experience we have in key places, I was pleased with the overall effort. A lot of kids got some good experience tonight and got their eyes opened a little bit. So, next week, they’ll know a little better of what to expect.” The Loggers play host to Frenchtown on Friday at 7 p.m. » Be the first to leave a comment
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