Bulldogs hammer Raymond
SANDPOINT — Balanced offense, run-stuffing defense and some exceptional playmaking helped Sandpoint take down Raymond, the No. 1 ranked high school team in Alberta, 34-14 Friday night during Homecoming football action at Barlow Stadium.
The play of the game for Sandpoint (5-2), and perhaps the play of the season to this point, came on the final snap of the first half. Linebacker Luther Morgan sniffed out a double-pass and broke on the cross-field throw, intercepting the pass and sprinting 37 yards to paydirt to give the Bulldogs a commanding 27-7 lead heading into halftime.
“Not only did he blitz, but he saw what was happening and read it perfectly,” said Bulldogs defensive coordinator Casey McLaughlin, whose stingy unit continues to impress and improve. “He’s such a great athlete and he just had a great game.”
The Bulldogs defense absolutely shut down the Comets (5-1) rushing attack, holding them to just six yards rushing on the night, an almost unheard of number.
For the second straight game, Ben Fisher did yeoman work rushing the football, finishing with 164 yards on 25 carries, helping a balanced Bulldog offense churn out 20 first downs to dominate time of possession. Cody Hecker finished with 85 yards on 10 carries, as the Bulldogs ground out 309 yards, eclipsing the 300 yard mark for the second consecutive game.
A running game is a quarterback’s best friend, and Daniel Charvoz used it to his advantage, throwing three touchdown passes to three different receivers in the balanced offensive attack.
A 17 yard strike to Hecker gave the Bulldogs an early 7-0 lead, before Raymond answered with a touchdown pass from quarterback Brady Baker to even the score at 7-7 in the first quarter.
John Dye hauled in a seven yard touchdown catch, followed by a two yard run from Ben Fisher, before Morgan’s interception capped an explosive 20 point second quarter, breaking the spirit of a very good Canadian team, which played under U.S. rules.
“I was happy to see them play 11 man instead of 12,” said Bulldogs coach Mike Mitchell, whose team lost 42-20 last year while having to adjust to the Canadian rules.
Mike Hubbard hauled in his sixth touchdown catch of the year to make it 34-7, before Baker threw his second touchdown for the lone score in the fourth quarter.
Sandpoint has a bye week, before heading to Moscow for what figures to be the game of the season against a very dangerous Bears team.
Raymond 7 0 0 7 — 14
Sandpoint 7 20 7 0 — 34
SHS — Cody Hecker 17 catch from Daniel Charvoz (Daniel Anderson kick)
RHS — Dillon Prince 6 catch from Jimmy Ralph (Jordan Oler kick)
SHS — John Dye 7 catch from Charvoz (Adam Crossingham kick)
SHS — Ben Fisher 1 run (kick blocked)
SHS — Luther Morgan 37 interception return (Crossingham kick)
SHS — Mike Hubbard 16 catch from Charvoz (Crossingham kick)
RHS — Jimmy Ralph 15 yard pass from Brady Baker (Jordon Oler kick)
Team Stats SHS RHS
First Downs 20 8
Rushes-yds 309 6
Receiving yds 139 252
Passing 10-15-0 21-35-1
Punts-Ave 1-30 3-25.33
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 1-0
Penalties-yds 4-40 5-25
Individual Stats
Rushing: SHS Ben Fisher 25-164, Cody Hecker 10-85, Daniel Charvoz 1-1, Luther Morgan 4-24, Mike Hubbard 3-20, Anthony Gold 4-15: RHS Rushing: Dillon Prince 6-17, Jimmy Ralph 5-(-17), Connor Ralph 3-6, Brady Baker 4-0
Receiving: SHS Cody Hecker 1-17, Mike Hubbard 3-45, Ben Fisher 3-42, AJ Smith 2-26, John Dye 1-7. RHS Connor Ralph 2-22, Jordon Oler 3-21, Brady Baker 1-5, Keith Pickering 1-9, Jimmy Ralph 10-153, Dillon Prince 4-42
Punt Returns: Ben Fisher 1-15
KO Returns: Anthony Gold 2-13. Jimmy Ralph 3-90
QB: Daniel Carvoz 10-13-0, 139 yds: Brandon Hawkins 0-2-0,0.