Pageantry and emotion, stemming from cross town rivalries, is one of the most appealing characteristics of high school football.
Thurston County is full of such rivalries. One of the area’s biggest took place on the gridiron Friday night, when North Thurston and Timberline High Schools faced off on the field-turf at South Sound Stadium in Lacey.
The match-up had 3A Narrows League playoff implications, adding fuel to an already firey atmosphere between the two long-time rivals.
Timberline’s 22-0 lead at the half would eventually develop into a 34-7 victory over the Rams, giving the Blazers their fourth league victory of the season. Sitting at 5-3 overall with a 4-1 record against 3A Narrows League opponents, the Blazers sit atop the league standings following Wilson High School’s 21-6 loss Friday night to Lincoln. Wilson also sits at 4-1 in league play, but fell to Timberline 26-20 on Oct. 4.
It has been quite a turn-around for Timberline given that the Blazers lost three straight games following their season opening win over River Ridge. The Blazers have now won four consecutive games and will finish regular season play next Friday at Shelton.
With the Ram’s loss, North Thurston has been eliminated from post-season play. The Ram’s defeat drops NTHS to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in league play. North Thurston will host Mt. Tahoma on Thursday, Oct. 31, to close out their season.
