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Forty-eight bruising, often sloppy minutes later, Timberline’s Blazers emerged with a 21-13 victory over Lincoln.
The Abes played without star running back Emmanuel Thompkins, who was serving a disciplinary suspension. In his absence, Lincoln spread the ground game among eight ballcarriers in the first half and pounded out 205 yards, scoring one touchdown on a long run and another on a textbook drive.
In the second half, however, Timberline held Lincoln to minus-1 net yard, while cranking up its own ground game behind slick junior Spencer Crump.
“They went to the farm in the second half,” Lincoln coach Michael Merrill said. “They hammered us.”
Coach Nick Mullen’s Timberline team, which won its third straight game after four non-league losses to open the season, now sits at 3-0 in Narrows League 3A play. Lincoln fell to 2-1 and 3-4 overall.
“It’s not like we were losing to bad teams,” Mullen said. “We’re a young group, and (losing) either destroys your character or builds your character. I think it built our character.”
Crump had the Blazers’ main offensive highlight in the first half with a 60-yard first-quarter burst to the Lincoln 3, then punched it in on his second try from there.
Lincoln answered late in the quarter when fleet quarterback Richard Johnson faked an inside handoff, took off to the right and 43 yards later crossed the goal line untouched.
Johnson, who ran for 113 yards in the first half, attempted one pass before halftime, and completed it for 13 yards to Jonathan Hardnett for a key first down in a 71-yard, 14-play touchdown drive on the Abes’ first possession of the second quarter. Johnson took it in from the 1-foot line on fourth-and-goal.
After a 45-yard kickoff return by Jordan Thompson to open the second half, the Blazers took advantage of the short field on a 40-yard march, capped by a seven-yard run by Crump. Mitchell Cone contributed runs of 14 and 9 yards in the drive.
After forcing a punt, Timberline found itself starting its next possession on its own 1-yard line. The Blazers forged a definitive ball-control drive, powering the 99 yards to its next score in 11 plays, all on the ground. Crump ripped off 62 yards on eight carries, including the touchdown from the 1. Cone bolted for gains of 16 and 19 on the drive as the Blazers asserted themselves in the trenches.
Timberline rang up 305 yards of total offense, 178 in the second half. Crump had 161 yards on 19 carries in the game, and Cone had 105 yards on 12 carries.
The two teams combined for 17 penalties, with Timberline flagged 10 times for 90 yards.
The Blazers face Capital, 2-0 in Narrows 3A, on Friday night. Lincoln next takes on Yelm.
