Hawks and Bulldogs look to end season on high note

SANDPOINT — The game may not have any playoff implications, but 4A North rivals Sandpoint and Lakeland will be looking to end the year on a high note tonight in the season finale.

Most years, this game would decide the league’s lone representative to the state playoffs. But this year, Moscow has already wrapped up its first playoff berth since 1997 — when it was still in the 3A Intermountain League — by beating Sandpoint and Lakeland to win the league.

Sandpoint (1-7, 0-1 4A IEL) has spent the year in a rebuilding mode, and a win tonight would provide a nice springboard into next season. The offense showed life last week in rolling up 35 points in a loss to Clarkston, but the defense once again had trouble getting stops in the loss.

Senior safety Alex Charvoz has been a playmaker all season, and his seven interceptions tie Norm Thornson (1965) and Manny Medina (2001) for second all time on the Sandpoint list. A pick tonight would tie Charvoz with Dave Smith (1965) and Sean Hogan (2009) for the all-time lead, while two picks would give him the record outright.

Receiver Chase Rodriguez has been a top player offensively, eclipsing 100 yards for the third time last week while catching his fourth touchdown of the season.

A.J. Buratto, Dean Knaggs and Cody Millard will each get touches in the running game, looking to

Lakeland (5-3, 0-1) was seconds away from beating Moscow last week, but the Bears scored on a late 22 yard touchdown pass on 4th and long with seconds remaining for the upset.

 KREM 2’s Tom Sherry will be broadcasting live tonight, at 5 and 6 p.m. from Lakeland High School. More than 12,000 people voted on the venue, with the Sandpoint/Lakeland game receiving 53 percent of the vote.

Students from each school will have a chance to be shown on the newscast, and Sherry will present each school with a $222 check for their efforts.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Lakeland High School.