Tests will get tougher for Timberline after two blowout wins to open season

No football coach would turn down a 2-0 start fueled by a couple of blockbuster offensive performances.

But after Timberline High School blew past Kent-Meridian, 57-6, Friday night at South Sound Stadium, Blazers’ coach James Jones made sure his players knew their dominance of the Royals, and of Cleveland a week before were only stepping stones to what lies ahead.

Next week, Timberline plays Yelm, the week after, Peninsula, the two 3A South Sound Conference favorites. Both on the road.

“We try to play to a standard. We’ll go to the film and find things we still need to clean up,” Jones said. “We can only play who’s on the schedule. You go out and handle business and I feel like we did that tonight.”

Against Kent-Meridian, the Blazers scored quickly and in a variety of ways.

“When you play a team you think you should beat, you come out strong and don’t let them into the game,” Jones said.

Before the night was done, sophomore Ramar Reid had rushed for two touchdowns, while Kaleb McNeely, who led Timberline with 98 rushing yards on just four carries, and Martin Aunese scored once each on the ground.

But junior quarterback Jackson Brown and his favorite receiver, senior Franco Segura, offered the most efficient offensive combination, one that helped knock Kent-Meridian out before the end of the first quarter.

On the Blazers first possession, they took over at the Royals 19-yard line after a short punt. After Brown threw what would turn out to be his only incompletion, he hit Segura over the middle and the 5-foot-10, 165-pound speedster broke outside for the left pylon to give Timberline the lead for good just three minutes in.

The two weren’t done.

Just over three minutes later, Brown hit Segura in stride streaking downfield for a 46-yard touchdown. Before the first quarter ended, they struck again when Brown threw crossfield to Segura for a score that put the Blazers up 30-0.

“Me and Franco have lot of chemistry from having played youth ball together,” said Brown. “I know where he’s going to be, I trust him. I throw the ball out there and I know he’s going to go get it.”

Segura agreed.

“I know he’s going to put the ball in the right place and I can make a play,” he said

Before giving way to backup quarterbacks Adam Ahlf and Jacob Nadeau, Brown threw a fourth touchdown pass, a 72-yarder to Darrell Gipson up the right sideline. He finished with six completions on seven passes for 153 yards.

Jones realizes it will be tough to meet a team as strong as Yelm after two walkovers.

“It’s going to be more difficult, but the great things is our guys will have a lot of confidence,” he said. “It’ll take us a couple of plays but its not going to take us a lot. These guys plays loose. We’ve played a lot of the tough teams at camp, so we’re not unfamiliar with playing that level of competition.”

This story was originally published September 10, 2021 at 11:51 PM.