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The Blazers shut out the Panthers in the second half and almost stole a victory on their final possession, before falling 33-28 at South Sound Stadium.
Facing a fourth-and-6 from his own 15-yard line in the final two minutes, Timberline’s Zak Porche converted a fake punt, running 9 yards to get keep the Blazers’ drive alive.
Chris MacNeil, in his first varsity start at quarterback, found James Segura-Mitchell, the Blazers’ starting QB against Camas and North Thurston, for a 30-yard strike to set up a first-and-10 at the Bonney Lake 27. But Timberline couldn’t convert on four plays.
With receivers Segura-Mitchell and Jordan Thompson in the end zone, the possible game-winning touchdown was broken up by the Panthers’ secondary.
MacNeil threw for 219 yards and helped the Blazers’ offense chip away at a 19-point halftime deficit when Bonney Lake led 33-14.
Timberline got to within five late on Segura-Mitchell’s halfback pass to a wide-open Thompson in the final minute of the third quarter. The Blazers outscored Bonney Lake 14-0 in the third with Thompson’s touchdown and Spencer Crump’s 7-yard touchdown run. Crump finished with 108 yards on 21 carries.
For the first time in coach Nick Mullen’s era at Timberline, his team is off to an 0-3 start. Timberline hasn’t started a season 0-3 since 1998; that team finished 3-6.
“We are definitely getting right there, we are so close,” Mullen said. “We’re going to keep getting better and going to keep playing. Our team doesn’t quit. That’s been our thing.”
The Blazers committed three fumbles on their first four possessions, and the Panthers (3-0) made them pay by converting two of the fumble recoveries into touchdowns.
EJ Harris had two rushing touchdowns, and Keenan Jackson added a 27-yard touchdown catch on the team’s opening offensive drive to give the Panthers a 20-0 first-quarter lead.
In all, the Blazers committed five turnovers – four fumbles, one interception – in the first half. Running back Harris accounted for four of the Panthers’ touchdowns on runs of 2, 1, 6 and 15 yards to go with his 82 rushing yards in the first half.
The 33 points given up by Timberline was a season high. Bonney Lake quarterback Chris Brown torched the Blazers, but his damage was mostly done in the first half. Through three games, Brown, who threw for more than 2,300 yards last season, has thrown for 12 touchdowns.
Meg Wochnick: 360-754-5473 mwochnick@theolympian.com www.theolympian.com/southsoundsports
