Written by: Will Hoenike
Senior Rylan West might be one of the best football players in Idaho that you may not have heard of before.
If Genesee didn’t know about Timberline’s 220-pound running back before last season, his 168-yard, four-touchdown performance certainly introduced him. Same thing for Salmon River, who he torched for 233 yards and five touchdowns. By the end of the season, the state’s coaches knew him well enough to vote him the 1A Division 2 Whitepine Offensive Player of the Year and also second team All-State.
Not bad. Especially for a junior. And also especially for a kid who plays in the same league as the two-time defending 1A Division 2 state champion, Kendrick.
For an encore, West would certainly like to help his Spartans return to the classification’s postseason. After qualifying his first two years, Timberline did not make the playoffs last season. And with Kendrick seemingly a virtual lock to claim one of the Whitepine League’s two berths to the playoffs again this year, West and his teammates will have to fight it out with talented foes Lewis County and Deary in the hopes of playing November football in 2023.
“We have a team that is all heart and, as long as we stay healthy, we are going to be fun to watch,” said Patrick Christopherson, who serves as the team’s co-head coach alongside Ryan West. “The big ‘X-factor’ this year is getting some freshmen to step up and hold down some critical positions. We will be low numbers as a team but that’s not uncommon for us.”
Timberline is located in Weippe (pronounced WEE-ipe) on the edge of the Nez Perce/Clearwater National Forest in north Idaho, about a 40-minute drive north of Grangeville. Last year’s roster listed 13 players, three of which were seniors, hence the need for younger players to step forward.
Players like Korbin Christopherson. The freshman will see time at quarterback this season. The coaches are excited about his potential; he already stands 6-foot-2 and weighs close to 190 pounds.
“He fell in love with the weight room,” said the elder Christopherson. “Having two older brothers has helped him develop a toughness and intelligence for the game.”
One of those older brothers is two-way standout Gavin Christopherson. The senior earned All-Whitepine recognition for his play on the defensive line. This year, he’ll be blocking for his little brother as well as one of the state’s top running backs on offense and, on defense, he’ll be charged with controlling one edge of the line of scrimmage from his defensive-end position. Seniors Darren Bonner and Tyson Stewart will join Christopherson along the defensive front as the Spartans look to control the line of scrimmage, which is a key piece of what Timberline strives to do each week.
“With Rylan West in the backfield, we have one of the toughest running backs in the state,” Christopherson said. “We are a smash mouth football team that likes to control the clock.”
Most expect Kendrick to once again be a strong contender for a state championship, which would make its third in a row. In 2022, the Tigers went 3-0 in Whitepine play and wasn’t tested in league play. On the other hand, the gap between Timberline, Lewis County, and Deary seems small. For instance, Timberline defeated Deary by eight points last season and lost to Lewis County, 26-6, in a game that was closer than the score might indicate. Both games could have gone either way. So put a circle around those two dates on the Spartans’ schedule – September 22 at Deary and October 20 against Lewis County.