Bulldogs rout Hawks; turn focus to playoffs

by Eric PLUMMER<br
| October 30, 2009 9:00 PM

SANDPOINT — Any thoughts that the Bulldogs might be ripe for an upset Friday night in their regular season finale at Barlow Stadium were erased on the first play from scrimmage.

Senior running back Ben Fisher took the handoff on a counter play and rumbled 72 yards for a touchdown, jump-starting the offense and propelling the Bulldogs to a convincing 50-12 win over Lakeland and into the first round of the 4A playoffs.

Fisher had a monster night for the Bulldogs (7-2, 2-0 4A IEL), grinding out 270 yards on 21 carries, and scoring a whopping five touchdowns. The Bulldogs churned out 319 yards on the ground, moving the ball almost at will.

After Fisher’s third score put the Bulldogs up 21-0, senior Dillon Gingerich caught a five yard touchdown to give the Bulldogs an early 27-0 first half lead.

Daniel Charvoz was once again extremely efficient guiding the offense, completing 12 of 13 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown, and equally important on a wet and muddy night, never turning the ball over once.

Senior Kyle Cooper led the Hawks (2-8, 0-2 4A IEL) with 115 hard-earned yards on the ground, including the Hawks’ first score, which cut the lead to 27-6 heading into halftime. Eric Polorny would add a late 16 yard touchdown run for the final score of the game late in the fourth quarter.

After Eric Nikssarian tackled the Lakeland punter in the end zone for a safety after a muffed snap, Sean Hogan proceeded to return the ensuing kickoff 60 yards for a touchdown. Fisher would tack on his final two touchdown runs to cap the scoring for the Bulldogs.

Sandpoint will host a playoff game next Friday night, most likely against the Middleton Vikings, whom they beat 36-14 earlier in the season.

Sandpoint 14 13 16 7 — 50

Lakeland 0 6 0 6 — 12

SHS — Ben Fisher 72 run (Anderson kick)

SHS — Fisher 55 run (Anderson kick)

SHS — Fisher 6 run (Anderson kick)

SHS — Dillon Gingerich 6 catch from Daniel Charvoz (kick fail)

LL — Kyle Cooper 4 run (run fail)

SHS — Safety

SHS — Sean Hogan 60 kickoff return (Anderson kick)

SHS — Fisher 7 run (Anderson kick)

SHS — Fisher 45 run (Anderson kick)

LL — Eric Pokorny 16 yd run (run fail)

Team Stats SHS LL

First Downs 14 9

Rushes-yds 35-319 36-181

Passing yds 150 85

QB 12-13-0 8-19-1

Punts-Ave 1-41 2-44

Fumbles-lost 1-0 2-1

Penalties-yds 10-98 7-60

Individual Stats

Rushing: SHS Ben Fisher 21-270, Luther Morgan 2-15, Anthony Gold 4-32, Dan Charvoz 2-1, Mike Hubbard 1-11, Brandon Lawrence 1-(-5), Raymond Lee 2-(-3), Matt Kingsley 1-(-2) LL: Eric Pokorny 7-45, Kyle Cooper 10-116. Cody Thorne 8-16, Eric Cooper 6-6, Daniel Whitesitt 1-(-26), Sam Mallory 4-25

Receiving: SHS Ben Fisher 1-5, Dillon Gingerich 1-6, Anthony Gold 2-24, Mike Hubbard 4-64, John Dye 2-25, A.J. Smith 2-26. LL: Brett Davis 1-5, Eric Cooper 1-11, Drillbit Taylor 2-12, Luke Howell 1-13, Arno Hunter 2-37, Braydon Davis 1-7.

n Cats fall to Warriors

HARRISON FLATS — Warrior Jake Hall had 182 yards rushing to lead Kootenai (9-0, 8-0 NSL) in a 48-0 North Star League win over the Wampus Cats.

Clark Fork tailback Howard Katenberg had 92 yards rushing, with Chaunce Nesbitt throwing for 25 yards to lead the Cats (1-7, 1-7 NSL) in their final game of the season.

Clark Fork 0 0 0 0 — 0

Kootenai 8 34 0 6 — 48

K — Cook 56 punt return (Dodson to Cook)

K — Kraack 5 pass from Dodson (Hall run)

K — Dodson 12 run (run failed)

K — Hall 1 run (Dodson run)

K — Hall 18 run (pass failed)

K — Hall 14 pass from Dodson (pass failed)

K — Dodson 1 run (no attempt)