Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Kendrick
2. Deary
3. Lewis County
4. Timberline
Written by: Will Hoenike
If there is a roadmap available for purchase, the Timberline Spartans seem to be following it. The path was blazed by Mullan a few years back and now Timberline is trending in the same direction. Others, like Meadows Valley, are likely taking note as well.
Here’s the path: program struggling with numbers doesn’t field a team. Then it comes back, cautiously, maybe even playing 6-man football. Then it re-emerges as an 8-man program and continues to climb before reaching the playoffs. Mullan did exactly that (with an assist from a co-operative agreement with nearby St. Regis, Montana) and is knocking on the door of title contention this fall.
Timberline, located in Weippe along Highway 11 outside of Orofino, didn’t play football in 2010. As an 8-man team, the Spartans lost 15 straight games between 2016 and 2017. In 2018, the team played a 6-man schedule.
That’s where the climb begins. Back to 8-man in 2019 and then, last fall, the Spartans went 4-4 and qualified for the 1A Division 2 playoffs after defeating White Pine rivals Deary and Lewis County in the regular season.
As for 2021, the coaching staff of Pat Christopherson, Ryan West, and Ronnie Fugate has an opportunity to advance to the postseason once again.
The Spartans averaged nearly 30 points per game on offense last season, including a high-water mark of 72 points in a home victory over Salmon River in September. With two-thirds of its starting offensive line back (senior Jaron Christopherson and junior Logan Hunter), its starting quarterback back (senior Parker Brown), and playmakers in senior Micha Nelson and sophomore Rylan West both back, there is reason to believe the Spartans can qualify for the 1A Division 2 playoffs again.
Defensively, the Spartans will need to limit big plays after running into the classification’s elite programs like league rival Kendrick (74 points allowed) and eventual state champion Dietrich (52 points allowed). Timberline has a strong base upfront in Christopherson, Hunter, and West. If that trio can control the line of scrimmage, it’ll make life easier for back-end players like Nelson and Brown to play downhill and make tackles.
Timberline will close the regular season with three consecutive home games in Weippe against Kendrick, Lewis County, and the aforementioned Meadows Valley, who is re-starting football this fall after not fielding a team for a decade.