ST. REGIS/ALBERTON – In their final game of the season, the Clark Fork Timberwolves faced defeat at the hands of the Hot Springs Savage Heat in their Alberton game on Saturday.

The game, on Alberton’s senior night, was a major rivalry game against the Savage Heat which was hard fought. According to Head Coach Jake Giffen, Hot Springs has a good team that has done very well.

The Savage Heat were on top of their game and made a lot of interceptions, gaining possession of the ball to make multiple touchdowns. Giffen said the Timberwolves turned the ball over six times. Without the turnovers, Giffen feels the game would have been a lot closer.

Senior Keir Sanzano played very well, making a lot of good plays. According to Giffen, he got 224 yards rushing during the game. Giffen said these yards would not have been possible without the blocking done by the rest of the team.

However, the Timberwolves had some problems in their game. They fumbled the ball multiple times and had trouble catching kicks and passes, which resulted in loss of possession. Giffen stated that everyone on the team made some mistakes during the game and said nobody had a phenomenal game.

“The game is won and lost by the team, not just one person,” Giffen said.

Leading up to their first playoff game, Giffen will be working with the Timberwolves on their pass coverage and plays to rush the quarterback. He feels they should do well if they keep their focus and play their best as a team.

Giffen said playoffs are “completely different” from a regular season and are like a season of their own. He said past experience against good teams has taught him to always play the best game possible. With the top 16 teams in the state playing, Giffen said you need to be good in order to make it far.

“If you don’t show up to play, you’re going to lose,” Giffen said. “That’s the playoff scenario.”

The Timberwolves’ next game will be playing against Grass Range/Winnett in St. Regis on Saturday at 1 p.m.