SPIRIT LAKE - Backed into a corner, the Timberlake Tigers couldn't respond on Saturday afternoon.

Mitch Svedin ran for 126 yards and two touchdowns as the third-ranked Weiser Wolverines defeated fourth-ranked Timberlake 34-7 at Van Tuinstra Memorial Field in the first round of the state 3A football playoffs.

Weiser (9-1) will travel to top-ranked Fruitland (10-0) in a semifinal game next Saturday. Fruitland beat Weiser 36-12 on Oct. 21 in Weiser.

"This is a really hard trip if you haven't done it before," Weiser coach John Srholec said. "Most of these guys made the trip last year (when Weiser won 37-7 at Timberlake in the first round), so we did the exact same thing. Ate at the same restaurants, stayed at the same hotels, everything was the same. Our itinerary didn’t change and the guys responded to the challenge.”

Timberlake fumbled the opening kickoff, allowing Weiser to take over at the 30-yard line. The Wolverines drove to the 2-yard line, but came up short as Timberlake linebacker Christian Heth tackled Mitch Svedin short of the end zone.

With Weiser driving on its ensuing possession, Timberlake forced a turnover as Devin Smith intercepted a pass on the 1-yard line, but the Tigers were forced to punt after failing to get a first down.

Weiser got on the scoreboard as Bill Pritchard returned a punt 48 yards to give the Wolverines a 7-0 lead with 3:25 remaining in the first quarter.

“We got ourselves into trouble with the fumble on the opening kickoff,” Timberlake coach Roy Albertson said. “Our biggest problem today was our field position in the first half. I felt our kids played hard and kept it close.”

Weiser scored again on a Svedin run to take a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Timberlake gained ground on runs by Zach Ward and Jerry Thiel to set up a 12-yard touchdown pass from Brian Cronnelly to Devin Smith cut the deficit to 14-7 midway through the second quarter.

Following a quarterback sack, Weiser faced a third and long, but was helped by a roughing-the-punter penalty and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the same play to move the ball into Timberlake territory late in the first half.

A pass to the end zone was intercepted by Smith, his second of the half to send the game to halftime.

“He’s a great safety for us,” Albertson said. “He knows where the ball is going to be. His first interception should have been a turning point for us in the first quarter.”

“I was doing what I was told to do,” said Smith, a senior, of the interceptions. “I could read his eyes and knew the ball was coming to me. To me, it felt like he was just going to either No. 15 (Cody Gable) or No. 84 (Bill Pritchard).”

Weiser outscored the Tigers 20-0 in the second half.

“They just came out in the second half and played harder than us,” Albertson said. “They played with more confidence than we did.”

Timberlake was unable to move the ball on the ground, finishing the game with 42 yards rushing.

“They’ve got a really good defense,” said Albertson of Weiser. “They had a rough outing against Fruitland, but had only given up 30 points as a team in seven games. I thought we could contain them on offense and did that in the first half.”

Smith had 88 yards receiving on six catches for Timberlake, which concludes the season 7-3.

“We had a great season,” Smith said. “We’ve got great coaches and a really good senior class. We just couldn’t pull off a win today.”

Timberlake made its ninth straight appearance in the state playoffs, with three trips to the semifinals.

“I’m proud we were Intermountain League champs,” Albertson said. “But we’ve got to find a way to play in championship games.”

Weiser 7 7 7 13 — 34

Timberlake 0 7 0 0 — 7

W — Bill Pritchard 48 punt return (Hans Hatlen kick)

W — Mitch Svedin 1 run (Hatlen kick)

TL — Devin Smith 12 pass from Bryan Cronnelly (J.D. Page kick)

W — Flint Hickman 14 run (Hatlen kick)

W — Svedin 4 run (Hatlen kick)

W — Cody Gable 5 pass from Brock Bumgarner (kick failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — W, Stephenson 10-46, Roberts 7-75, Negrete 2-1, Bumgarner 4-1, Hickman 1-14, Svedin 23-126, Johnson 1-0, Kistenmacher 1-2. TL, Smith 1-0, Heth 9-8, Cronnelly 1-1, Aga 1-0, F. Herring 4-2, T. Reese 2-4, Ward 1-27.

PASSING — W, Bumgarner 8-13-2-99. TL, Cronnelly 8-20-1-95.

RECEIVING — W, Pritchard 2-34, Gable 3-24, Roberts 2-30, Svedin 1-11. TL, Thiel 2-22, Smith 6-88.