MERIDIAN - The Lake City Timberwolves watched their title hopes evaporate in a 28-14 loss to the Mountain View Mavericks in the state 5A football semifinals Friday night.

Playing in below-freezing conditions on a field that needed nearly a foot of snow to be cleared before kickoff, Lake City (9-2) went cold in the red zone twice in the first quarter, which served as an ominous sign.

"We did what we wanted when you're a road team coming into a playoff environment," Lake City coach Van Troxel said. "We got a quick turnover and built some momentum, but we just couldn't put points on the board. You have to give Mountain View credit. Their defense kept us out of rhythm all night."

Lake City's start appeared promising after Corey Cook intercepted Garrett Collingham's first pass and returned it to the Mountain View 37.

However, the drive stalled on the 14 and soured when Mountain View's Devin Gaskins knifed through the line and blocked a 29-yard field goal attempt.

The Timberwolves forced a 3-and-out punt and then drove 59 yards to the Mountain View 10 before Romero Demetrius intercepted a pass near the goal line and returned it to the Mavericks' 23.

Making the turnover more painful for Lake City was a 9-yard touchdown run negated by an illegal shift.

In the first quarter, Lake City outgained Mountain View 113 yards to 11.

But Mountain View reversed its fortunes on the first play in the second quarter. Collingham broke loose on a keeper and raced 61 yards before getting dragged down at the Lake City 11.

Trey Bell bulled his way into the end zone on the next play for an 11-yard TD run. Collingham added the extra point to give Mountain View a 7-0 lead with 11:22 remaining in the first half.

On the ensuing kickoff, Mountain View squibbed it short and emerged from a mad scramble with the ball at the Lake City 42.

Collingham engineered an eight-play, 42-yard drive that culminated in a touchdown on a 1-yard dive by Kole Goodwin. Collingham added the extra point to push the Mavericks' lead to 14-0.

Lake City avoided falling behind by more before halftime when Collingham missed a 31-yard field goal wide right midway through the second quarter and also made a goal line stand as time ran out on the half.

Mountain View nearly put the game out of reach when Collingham galloped for a 51-yard touchdown late in the third quarter to take a 21-0 lead.

However, Lake City answered with a 10-play, 64-yard drive, scoring when Jerry Louie-McGee squirted into the end zone on the first play of the fourth quarter. After a failed two-point conversion play, the Timberwolves trailed 21-6.

Any hopes of a comeback were squelched almost immediately when Collingham scored on a 56-yard run on the Mavericks' next play from scrimmage.

Lake City tacked on another touchdown with 3:35 left in the game when Michael Goggin hit Brandon Dotson on a 16-yard scoring strike. Louie-McGee added the two-point conversion, but it was too late.

Collingham, who led the Mavericks in rushing with 246 yards, passing with 17 yards and receiving with 11, stymied the Lake City defense all night long. He was injured after a punt in the fourth quarter, and was out the rest of the game. Training staff from Mountain View said he had a hyperextended knee, and thought he would be OK for next week's state title game in Boise, against either Rocky Mountain of Meridian or Highland of Pocatello.

Lake City's offense, despite a 143-yard rushing performance by Louie-McGee, struggled against a physical and aggressive Maverick defense that led the 5A Southern Idaho Conference in fewest points allowed.

"They've got a good defense," Goggin said. "They did a good job of stopping us when we got down near the goal line. We just made too many mistakes to beat a good team like that."

While Goggin was disappointed in the outcome, he said it didn't diminish what the team did this season.

"We won the IEL title for the first time in a while, beat Cd'A for the first time since 2009, and had a lot of good wins against quality opponents," Goggin said. "There's a lot of good things to take away from this season."

Lake City 0 0 0 14 - 14

Mtn. View 0 14 7 7 - 28

Second quarter

MV - Trey Bell 11 run (Garrett Collingham kick), 11:22

MV - Kole Goodwin 1 run (Collingham kick), 8:55

Third quarter

MV - Collingham 51 run (Matias Lamberti kick), 3:11

Fourth quarter

LC - Jerry Louie-McGee 2 run (pass failed), 11:58

MV - Collingham 56 run (Lamberti kick), 11:49

LC - Brandon Dotson 16 pass from Michael Goggin (Louie-McGee run), 3:35

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - LC, Goggin 5-20, Louie-McGee 27-143, Newby 12-28. MV, Collingham 19-246, Goodwin 19-118, Bell 3-12, Smith 1-2, Farris 1-2, Team 2-(minus 2).

PASSING - LC, Goggin 19-30-3-166, Hunter 0-1-0-0. MV, Collingham 2-7-1-17, Haun 1-2-0-13.

RECEIVING - LC, Louie-McGee 8-76, Newby 4-38, Hunter 1-7, Helpser 1-2, Dotson 2-30, Weadick 3-14. MV, Collingham 1-13, Bell 1-11, Patwell 1-6.