Written by: Brandon Baney
Bonners Ferry is about to discover what Wallace has known for a while now: When you play in a two-team conference, your margin for error is razor-thin.
The Intermountain League underwent a significant change this offseason. The IML lost upstanding members Kellogg and Priest River to the 2A ranks. The IML gained.....no one.
So it's a two-team affair this year between Bonners Ferry and Timberlake. The two will meet in the regular season finale in Spirit Lake on October 21st. Before then, the Badgers will have plenty of opportunities to fine-tune things.
"This is a great senior group," third-year coach Travis Hinthorn said. "They are not only athletic, but they are academic and of high character. We coached them through middle school, so this is our sixth year together. We have 18 of them still playing."
That's a good foundation, and it starts with quarterback Blake Rice. He'll have three solid weapons to throw to in Charles Henslee, Tully Reinhardt and Teigan Banning.
Cleo Henslee and Josh Pinkerton will both see time at running back. Paving the way for those backs up front are seniors Dillon Mai, Travis Peterson, Michael Bollschweiler, Donny Reiss and David Hammons.
Defensively, a lot of the same names dot the depth chart. All of the offensive linemen listed above will play on the defensive line, as well. Cleo Henslee, Rice and Pinkerton will play linebacker. And the secondary will be led by Charles Henslee, Reinhardt and Banning.
Because there's only one conference game on the schedule, the Badgers had to get creative with the non-conference slate. They'll play four of the five members of the 2A Central Idaho League (including former conference foe Kellogg). They will also play Libby and Lincoln County from Montana, and a pair of Washington schools, East Valley (Spokane) and Northwest Christian (Colbert).
But for Bonners Ferry to get to the playoffs, Hinthorn says the goal is simple: "Hopefully we can beat Timberlake this year."