MOSCOW - So close, but so far away.

After battling back to within a point, the Lake City Timberwolves were unable to convert on a two-point conversion as they fell to the Rio Linda Knights of the Sacramento area 20-19 in the Idaho Football Classic on Saturday at the Kibbie Dome.

"We didn't do a great job in what we were seeing on that play," Lake City coach Van Troxel said. "Our defense played well and played hard. But our offense kept putting them into the hole. Offensively, we're a work in progress right now."

Rio Linda (2-1) opened the scoring as Lamar Bible carried the ball into Timberwolves territory on a 44-yard run and scored two plays later on a 7-yard run for the early lead.

Lake City (2-2) took the lead with 34 seconds remaining in the first quarter as Devin Burgess returned a punt 55 yards to give the Timberwolves a 7-6 lead following the extra point.

“Last week at Lewiston he ignited us,” Troxel said. “We’ve really been working on him catching the ball to use his athletic ability. We got them to kick a few bad punts to keep it away from him.”

Burgess also had two pass deflections to keep Rio Linda from scoring late in the first half.

“It was definitely a game changer,” said Burgess of the return. “It’s the biggest play you can have as a returner. I’ve been more calm back there. I can think about getting to the end zone each time.”

Lake City struck again before the half ended as Bobby Traverse hit Nick Baker on a 10-yard pass to give the Timberwolves a 13-6 lead at halftime.

After a scoreless third quarter, Rio Linda pulled to within 13-12 as Bible scored on a 5-yard dive play with 10:56 remaining in the fourth. Bible scored after a turnover to give the Knights a 20-13 lead with 5:09 remaining.

Lake City took advantage of a personal foul following an 18-yard run by Brandon Johnson. On fourth down, tailback Levi Hewitt scored from 1 yard out to get the Timberwolves within 20-19. But, playing for the win, Lake City was unable to punch in the go-ahead score as the defense stuffed Hewitt at the 5-yard line.

“I loved them,” Rio Linda coach Michael Morris said of Lake City. “I loved their offense and the way they came to play. Their coaching staff had us scrambling the entire second half. This was a great game to be part of.”

Lake City has a bye this week and returns to action at Post Falls on Sept. 30 in the 5A Inland Empire League opener.

“It’s a big deal,” said Troxel of the game. “But our season is ahead of us. We need to make some strides in the next two weeks. If we respond like we did after our last loss, we’ve got a shot against them.

Earlier, Salmon River defeated Tri-Valley 44-42 in an eight-man game and Highland of Pocatello beat Vanden of Fairfleld, Calif., 35-34.

“It was like a bowl atmosphere,” Morris said. “It really didn’t hit me until we got here yesterday. It must be like playing in a bowl game. Everyone here was very pleasant. Everywhere we went, there were great people.”

Rio Linda 6 0 0 14 — 20

Lake City 7 6 0 6 — 19

RL — Lamar Bible 7 run (kick failed)

LC — Devin Burgess 55 punt return (Andrew Hocking kick)

LC — Nick Baker 10 pass from Bobby Traverse (kick failed)

RL — Bible 5 run (kick failed)

RL — Bible 15 run (Dustin Rossiter pass from Cole Farrow)

LC — Levi Hewitt 1 run (pass failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — RL, Bible 24-172, Koopman 1-3, Farrow 6-28, Ram 9-39, Rossiter 3-1. LC, Mitchell 5-2, Williams 7-56, Traverse 2-7, Johnson 9-33, Hewitt 3-27, Houlihan 2-8.

PASSING — RL, Farrow, 8-19-1-72. LC, Traverse, 8-17-75.

RECEIVING — RL, Gregory 2-17, Scobee 3-20, Bible 1-6, Ram 1-11. LC, Baker 2-12, Mitchell 4-39, Bevacqua 1-9, Burgess 1-15.