Bengals' aerial assault too much for Bulldogs
Junior quarterback Ben Schmid swings a pass to Anthony Gold, who threw a double pass to Eric Nikssarian in Friday night’s loss. (Photo by ERIC PLUMMER)
SANDPOINT — While the final score may have been another bitter pill to swallow, there were at least some positives to build upon going forward for Sandpoint, which fell 56-21 to Lewiston in a Homecoming game Friday night at Barlow Stadium.
The Bulldogs (2-3) tackled better than the previous week’s blowout loss to Coeur d’Alene, and also kept the chains moving with 16 first downs, three more than Lewiston. The difference in the game was Lewiston senior quarterback Beau Kerns, who threw for 383 yards and five touchdowns and led his team to the win with a host of quick strike passes.
After Kerns got the Bengals (4-1) on the scoreboard first with a 13 yard touchdown run, Anthony Gold had yet another electrifying return on the ensuing kickoff to give the Bulldogs a 7-6 lead after the first quarter.
Gold has developed into a dangerous special teams player, both as a return man and in coverage, notching his third touchdown return of the season after picking up a huge block from Jacob Clad and reversing field for an 88 yard score, making a host of Bengal tacklers miss.
Lewiston would score 29 unanswered points from that point, taking a 28-7 lead into half despite the Bulldogs controlling much of the clock. Gold and Luther Morgan combined on 114 tough yards on 32 carries, as the Bengals loaded up the line of scrimmage to stop the run.
Ben Schmid played quarterback for the entire second half in relief of starter Brandon Hawkins, and led the Bulldogs on two nice scoring drives. After a 42 yard strike to Joe Duarte, Schmid scored on a three yard keeper to cut the lead to 35-15 after a two point conversion toss to Luther Morgan.
After Lewiston capitalized on a Bulldog fumble, one of five turnovers on the game, and scored to make it 42-15, Gold made another stellar play in punt coverage, putting a stick on a Lewiston player and recovering the fumble.
Schmid capitalized on the good field position with a beautiful fade route to Eric Nikssarian in the back of the end zone for a 27 yard score, the Bulldogs final points after cutting the lead to 42-21. Scmid threw for 109 yards and a touchdown in the second half, along with three interceptions, one of which was returned 37 yards for the Bengals’ final score.
The road doesn’t get any easier for the Bulldogs, who host Post Falls next week, the third straight game against a strong 5A IEL opponent.
Sandpoint — 7 0 8 6 — 21
Lewiston — 6 22 7 21 — 56
LHS — Beau Kerns 13 run (kick fail)
SHS — Anthony Gold 88 kickoff return (Cole Fuhrman kick)
LHS — Lucky Gaskill 38 catch from Kerns (Cameron Berglund kick)
LHS — Tyler LaPlante 1 run (Kyle Mai run)
LHS — Gaskill 25 catch from Kerns (Berglund kick)
LHS — Mai 31 catch from Kerns (Berglund kick)
SHS — Ben Schmid 3 run (Luther Morgan catch from Schmid)
LHS — Randin Fuentes 19 catch from Kerns (Berglund kick)
SHS — Eric Nikssarian 27 catch from Kerns (Berglund kick)
LHS — Randin Fuentes 22 catch from Kerns (Berglund kick)
LHS — Jordon Southall 37 yd interception return (Berglund kick)
SHS LHS
First Downs 16 13
Rushes-yds 38-111 31-118
Passing yds 146 383
QB 8-16-3 16-25-0
Punts-Ave 5-32 4-39
Fumbles-Lost
3-2 2-0
Penalties -Yds 6-50 7-45
SHS Rushing: Anthony Gold 24-71, Brandon Hawkins 3-(-8), Luther Morgan 8-43, Jake Heuscher 3-23, Matt Kingsley 1-0, Ben Schmid 4-(-18)
SHS Receiving: Luther Morgan 1-24, Luke Plaster 1-7, Eric Nikssarian 4-68, Joe Duarte 1-42, Jacob Clad 1-5
LHS Rushing Tyler Broemeling 8-34, Ryan Humphrey 3-16, Beau Kerns 12-10, Tyler LaPlante 4-9, Lucky Gaskill 2-(-8), Peter Bakker 2-(-8)
LHS Receiving: Randon Fuentes 3-53, Connor Imel 2-40, Lucky Gaskill 3-69, Kyle Mai 3-110, Camden Bernatz 4-102, Ryan Rigney 1-9
QB: Beau Kerns 16-25-0 383yds. Brandon Hawkins 2-4-0 12 yds, Anthony Gold 1-1-0 20yds, Ben Schmid 5-11-3 109yds
Returns: Anthony Gold 3-121 KOR, Eric Nikssarian 3-50