On February 4, Timberline hosted our first rivalry game against Boise, the Battle for the Paddle. This was a very heated game full of cheers and competitions. No one knew what to expect going into this. Before the game started, both schools principal’s got in front of everyone and announced how to earn points for the chance to win the paddle. Some examples were from the student’s sections, sportsmanship, and our hype/encouragement for our team, the dance teams had a dance off, both student councils made hype videos, and winner of the first half, second half, and overall game.
The student sections were full, hundreds and hundreds of bodies filling up our gym, which has never seen a crowd of this size. Both sections fought for their points for sportsmanship and kept the energy up. Andrew Price (Sr.) dominated on the court during a halftime game. The cheerleaders also led hard, keeping the spirits high. Both dance teams put on excellent performances as well.
The actual game was very fast-paced and full of amazing plays. Collin Morris (Jr.) overall won player of the game, scoring Timberline 25 points. Luke Soltau (Sr.) and Isaac Thacker (Jr.) on Boise’s team also scored a ton. Timberline’s defense played hard, keeping Boise’s score low.
In the second half, Boise caught up and passed Timberline after having a good lead the whole first half, but not very long later, Timberline took that back.
After the final buzzer, it was clear who won the game and the paddle. TIMBERLINE! With a score of 56-42, the whole student section flooded onto the floor, cheering and celebrating the first of hopefully many victories of the Battle for the Paddle.
