BFHS Football: Badgers fall in home opener

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