Former Bulldogs making impact at college level

SANDPOINT — Former Sandpoint football standout Cody Hecker and the No. 5 ranked Eastern Washington football team will travel to Portland State on Saturday for a pivotal Big Sky Conference game.

The Eagles (8-2) can clinch a sixth Big Sky title, as well as improve on their national ranking and playoff seed. Last year Portland State downed the Eagles 43-26.

Hecker, a sophomore running back, carried the ball two times for 13 yards in a recent 34-17 win over No. 16 Cal Poly. On the season the converted linebacker has four carries for 39 yards, averaging a robust 9.8 yards per carry.

Kickoff is at 1 p.m. at Jeld-Wen Field in Portland.

• French, Concordia primed for playoff run

Former Sandpoint soccer player Tanner French and the No. 16 seed Concordia men’s soccer team (15-3-2) hosts Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) (14-2-3) for an NAIA opening round match at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 17.

The winner of that match will advance to Montgomery, Ala., the final site of the NAIA National Championships.

French, a junior defender, has started in 12 of the 16 games he’s played this season, notching three assists and seven shots on goal.

French, who transferred from Oregon State, was named the Cascade Collegiate Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore.

• Nostdahl, Whitworth see season come to an end

Former Sandpoint soccer standout Anders Nostdahl and the Whitworth men’s soccer team saw their season come to an end last weekend with a 1-0 loss to Mississippi College in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.

The Pirates fell to 13-3-3 and it marks only the second time that Whitworth has not advanced past the first round in seven NCAA tournament appearances.

Nostdahl, a junior midfielder, played in 11 games on the year, tallying two assists and five shots on goal for the Pirates.