PLAYERS TO WATCH

Thomas Bateman, Bonners Ferry
Eli Blackmore, Bonners Ferry
Asher Williams, Bonners Ferry
Tyler Engleston, Timberlake
Jacob Yetter, Timberlake

Written by: Brandon Baney

Pundits often refer to football as a “game of inches”. No one’s been able to come up with a comparable phrase for basketball, but however you want to define it, the Bonners Ferry Badgers were a handful of plays away from claiming the Class 3A state championship a year ago.

Alas, the Badgers came up just short against Sugar-Salem, falling 52-47. It was Bonners Ferry’s second and final loss of the season as part of a 23-2 overall campaign. Their only other loss was to West Valley High from Spokane, Washington, by a single point, 56-55.

The Badgers bid farewell to three time All-League selection Ridge Williams, as well as three-year starting point guard Braeden Blackmore and sixth man Riley Petesch. But everyone else is back to help Bonners Ferry get over the hump in 2023-24.

It starts with Ridge’s younger brother, Asher Williams, a junior who can play both point guard and shooting guard. “Asher will move to point guard and be a threat at all levels,” says fourth year coach Nathan Williams. “Thomas Bateman will slide to shooting guard and is a great shooter, as well as someone that can score both outside and inside.”

Joining Williams and Bateman will be senior Trey Bateman and juniors Eli Blackmore and Brody Rice. All of them are listed as guards, which begs the question: who will collect the rebounds inside for Bonners Ferry? Williams says everyone will have to chip in. “The key to our success is our defense and rebounding,” Williams says. “If we focus on those things every night, we should be ok.”

There’s only one other team in the Intermountain League, so there’s no secrets here. Timberlake knows they’ll have to get through Bonners Ferry if they want to advance to state. Coach Mike LaFountaine welcomes back a number of athletes football fans will recognize. 6-foot-4 senior Cole Meidinger shifts from quarterback to forward. 6-foot-5 senior Braden McDougall moves from tight end to center. 6-foot-2 senior Vaughn Higgins pivots from running back to the wing. And 5-foot-9 senior Jacob Yetter will transition from wide receiver to guard.

The straw that will stir the drink, though, came in via a transfer. 6-foot-1 junior guard Tyler Engelson transferred in from Class 2A Priest River, and his playmaking abilities will be crucial for the Tigers. How much of an impact player is Engelson? Coaches in the 2A Central Idaho League unanimously agreed that Priest River would be the favorite to win that league if Engelson had stayed. With his departure, the Spartans tumbled all the way to the fifth and final spot without him in our preseason poll.