Bulldogs suffer 33-0 shutout loss in playoff opener

SANDPOINT — For some stats that tell the tale of Skyview’s 33-0 dispatching of Sandpoint in a 4A playoff opener Friday night at Barlow Stadium, consider this: Skyview quarterback Hunter Hyde threw for 308 yards and four touchdowns, and that was just in the first half.

Knowing that the Bulldogs (4-6) were missing both of their starting cornerbacks due to suspension, the Hawks (8-2) came out throwing the rock early and often, scoring touchdowns on their first four offensive possessions to build a 26-0 lead just two minutes into the second quarter.

Hyde finished the game a tidy 23-30 for 401 yards, including two long scoring strikes of 43 and 84 yards to receiver Matt Wymore, and another two to receiver Mike Iordonescu.

“That’s what we do,” said Skyview head coach David Young of the pass-heavy game plan. “We have a lot of faith in our offensive line and receivers. Sandpoint was in a tough bind and we were fortunate to beat them. I have a lot of respect for coach (Mike) Mitchell.”

The Bulldogs seemed shell-shocked by the early deficit, and could never find any kind of rhythm offensively. Mitchell knew going in it was going to be a tough night, and his suspicions were confirmed early when Hyde was finding wide open receivers all over the field.

“They’re a good football team, but I didn’t see any part of the game where I thought we were us,” said a disappointed Mitchell, who was without the services of three two-way starters for the most important game of the season. “We were playing with second string corners, and it didn’t take them (Skyview) long to find them. We couldn’t get any pressure on their quarterback.”

Quarterback Brandon Hawkins rushed for 51 hard yards on 13 carries, many while scrambling from a potent Skyview pass rush, and Eric Nikssarian carried eight times for 49 yards as the Bulldogs could only muster 190 yards of total offense.

“That’s the first shutout for defensive coordinator Eric Bonds; hats off to him and all of the coaches,” said Young of a stout defensive effort. “We came out with a sense of urgency, came out and just played football.”

Tanner Robison took a direct snap from center for a one-yard scoring plunge in the fourth quarter, the lone and final score in a second half featuring plenty of punts.

After a brutal 20 point first quarter, the Bulldogs’ defense settled in, allowing just one score in the final 30 minutes of action behind solid play from Luther Morgan, Tyler Navarro and Nikssarian. Despite the disappointing loss, Mitchell found a couple of positive from two of his seniors.

“I thought Brandon did some good things at quarterback, but the offensive line was having trouble in the first half. We just didn’t have any continuity on offense,” he said. “Luther Morgan always gives you everything he’s got. We just didn’t have any continuity on offense.”

SKY — 20   6   0   7 — 33

SHS — 0     0   0   0 — 0

Skyview — Matt Wymore 43 catch from Hunter Hyde (kick fail)

Skyview — Mike Iordonescu 6 catch from Hyde (pass fail)

Skyview — Wymore 84 catch from Hunter Hyde (Hyde run)

Skyview — Mike Iordonescu 37catch from Hyde (run fail)

Skyview — Tanner Robison 1 run (Mitchell DeFord kick)

                                               SHS     SKY

First Downs         8           17

Rushes-yds      27-119  28-105

Passing yds         71      401

QB                9-23-2    23-30-0

Punts-Ave          5-36     3-31.3

Fumbles-Lost      1-0       3-0

Penalties -yds     8-60     9-85

SKY Rushing: Tanner Robison 13-55, Hunter Hyde 10-15, Charlie Kido 1-11, Kasen Bell 2-12, Mitchell DeFord 1-11, Walker Ray 1-1

SKY Receiving: Walker Ray 2-68, Kacy Bonds 3-20, Tanner Robison 5-49, Mike Iordonescu 6-101, Matt Wymore 7-163

SHS Rushing: Brandon Hawkins 13-51, Luther Morgan 6-19, Erik Nikssarian 8-49

SHS Receiving: Joe Duarte 2-23, Anthony Sekona 3-25, Luther Morgan 2-23

QB: Hunter Hyde 23-30-0, 401 yds.  Brandon Hawkins 7-13-1 36 yds.  Ben Schmid 2-9-1, 35 yds.  Erik Nikssarian 0-1-0.