Bulldogs look to bounce back against Bengals

SANDPOINT — Sandpoint head coach Mike Mitchell made only one guarantee about tonight’s Homecoming football game against Lewiston: his team would tackle better than in did in last week’s 55-7 drubbing at Coeur d’Alene.

When the Bulldogs (2-2) take the field tonight, the biggest concern with Mitchell is how his team bounces back after falling hard to an admittedly good Vikings team.

“We were unimpressive last week in most phases of the game,” said Mitchell, whose primary theme this week at practice was improved tackling. “We’ll bounce back and be who we really are.”

Who they are is a team featuring a strong running game and capable defense, that simply had one of those nights last Friday. How they respond tonight, against the second of three straight games against 5A IEL teams, could speak volumes about the season going forward.

Lewiston (3-1) has notched impressive wins over Pullman, Clarkston and Hermiston, and lost by two points to Meridian. The Bengals beat Clarkston 25-13, while the Bulldogs lost to the same opponent 35-34 in a game they probably should have won.

The Bengals run mostly single back and I-formation football, and like to put the ball in the air. Mitchell hopes to see his defense return to its roots and stifle the Bengals’ attack.

“We need to come back and play Sandpoint defense,” conceded Mitchell. “Run to the football and get seven people in on tackles. No arm tackling.”

Among the few positives last week was the play of Brandon Hawkins at cornerback, where he earned defensive player of the week, and Ben Schmid in his first extended action at quarterback. Both players will continue to split time pulling the trigger behind the offense for the remainder of the season.

Ball protection will also be crucial, as the Bulldogs suffered six turnovers last week. The growing pains were expected from a mostly young team, and handling adversity moving forward will also be expected from the head coach.

“You need to overcome bumps in the road, need to handle them when they happen,” said Mitchell, who hopes to ride the powerful legs of running back Anthony Gold offensively. “For us to be what we can be, he needs 25-30 carries.”

The Bulldogs have won three of the last four games against the Bengals. The Bulldogs will be honoring the seniors before kickoff, and Homecoming festivities will take place at halftime.

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