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BFHS Football: Badgers fall in home opener |
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September 8, 2014 |
In the first offensive set of the game the
Badgers looked good. They started on their own
27 yard line and after four consecutive positive
plays Bonners Ferry found themselves on the
visiting Newport Grizzlies’ 46 yard line with
plenty of momentum. That momentum was quickly
slowed by a fumble in the backfield which
Newport pounced on. The Grizzlies put together
their own drive, but the Badger defense held on
the goal line and forced a field goal from three
yards out.
That fumble seemed to set an unwanted precedent
for the Badgers, as they struggled to get
anything going on offense after their first
drive. They punted, lost a fumble, turned the
ball over on downs, and punted over their next
four possessions. In the meantime, Newport
scored on a two yard touchdown run by Christian
Cornwell, and a one yard dive from Koa Pancho to
put Newport up 17-0 late in the second quarter.
The Badgers weren’t ready to lay down, though.
They forced a fumble and covered up the loose
football on the Newport 40 yard line then put
together an 8-play drive capped by a gutsy
fourth down pass from the 14 yard line that
Caleb Harrington cradled in for the touchdown.
Bonners Ferry’s defense held on for the
remaining 47 seconds in the half to take the
momentum of their touchdown into the locker room
at half time.
Newport quickly dampened the Badgers’ excitement
with a six-play touchdown drive, a fumble
recovery, and a three-play touchdown drive to
put Bonners Ferry in a 30 – 6 hole after just
four minutes of play in the second half. “When
the momentum went the other way we were never
able to get it back,” said Coach DePriest. They
certainly tried, though, scoring on their next
drive to make it 30 – 12 with five minutes to
play in the third quarter. Unnerved Newport
answered with an impressive drive of their own,
going 61 yards in 13 plays with the last six,
including a two-yard touchdown run, all going to
Pancho.
With time running out, the Badgers simply did
not have enough steam to close the gap. Each
side scored once more, leaving the final score
at 37-18. “It was rough,” said junior
quarterback Jason Shutes, “We were slow getting
off the ball.”
The Badgers had their struggles, but they also
had moments of brilliance. Nick Sabin put
together a strong ground attack while amassing
106 yards and a touchdown. Shutes showed his
ability to put the ball in the air when the
Badgers needed him to, and Caleb Ghering, Tres
Hiatt, Carson Umphenour, Ethan Erickson, and
others caused regular trouble in the backfield
for the Grizzlies.
The Badgers play host to Lethbridge next Friday
at 7:00 p.m. Catch all the action live on our
companion website,
www.BoundaryCountyLive.com
If you would like to re-watch the Badgers vs
Newport game, that replay is also available at
www.boundarycountylive.com |
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