Buldogs looking to make it three straight

SANDPOINT — The Bulldogs host the first of two consecutive home football games against the Vikings tonight — Coeur d’Alene comes to town next week — when a dangerous Middleton team ventures north looking to hand Sandpoint its first loss of the season.

It will be a bit of déja vu for Bulldogs (2-0) head coach Mike Mitchell, who sees Middleton as a carbon copy of the tough Colville squad his team beat 20-7 last Friday. The Vikings (1-0), who beat Jerome 27-20 last week in their season opener, run a lot of double-wing formations, pulling everyone to the point of attack with lots of misdirection and power. Last year they lost 22-7 to Sandpoint, before a lengthy winning streak landed them in the 4A playoffs.

When asked what the biggest surprise of the season has been to this point, Mitchell didn’t hesitate in naming his defense, which held both Lake City and Colville to just one touchdown.

“No big plays; bend, but don’t break,” described Mitchell of the defense, pointing to a hustle play by junior defensive back Eric Nikssarian last week to prevent a score on a 67 yard run. “He went from the far end of the field and never gave up and ran him (the ball carrier) down before the goal line. It was one of those plays everybody appreciates.”

Mitchell also had high praise for the play of quarterback Daniel Charvoz, who threw for a score and ran for a score last week and leads an offense which has committed just one turnover this year, a number any coach would love.

Charvoz has been the beneficiary of a quarterback’s best friend — a potent running game. Cody Hecker has rushed 36 times for 366 yards this season, a robust 10 plus yards per pop, and Ben Fisher has also been very productive on his carries. To keep opposing defenses from keying too much on the running game, the Bulldogs plan to mix it up a little more tonight.

“We’ve been slugging it out the last two weeks,” said Mitchell. “We need to help the running backs by throwing more, and Charvoz has been very solid so far.”

The Bulldogs will be without the services of receiver/defensive back Brandon Lawrence, who hyper-extended his knee last week and not quite ready to return.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Barlow Stadium.