The future looks bright for Bulldog Football Nation
SANDPOINT — If you don’t like football, now might be a good time to jump to the next story. To borrow from the song in the Goldie Hawn/Wesley Snipes/Woody Harrelson classic movie "Wildcats": “It’s the sport of kings, better than diamond rings, football.”
For the first time in months, I’ve had a couple Friday nights free, but I’ve a sneaking suspicion that the football seasons might last a little longer in future years.
The much-improved Bulldogs finished the season 4-5, and were a couple of big plays away from beating Lakeland to earn a spot in the state playoffs in a hard-hitting season finale.
To illustrate how close the Bulldogs are to the top echelon in the 4A ranks, consider the Hawks lost 34-23 to No. 2 ranked Skyview in the first round of the playoffs, an 11 point defeat despite committing five turnovers. Skyview’s only loss of the year came in a 14-10 defeat at the hands of unbeaten and top-ranked Bishop Kelly.
The reasons are many for a bright future, starting at the top with head coach Satini Puailoa. In two years at the helm, he’s already outfitted the team with new uniforms and equipment, no easy task as he’s also bumped up the overall numbers in the program drastically.
His passion, commitment and energy are evident year-round, and the payoff could be coming soon. A wealth of underclassmen played key roles on varsity this season, and the freshman and JV teams both experienced a high level of success, which usually manifests itself at the varsity level down the road.
Junior quarterback Nate Loutzenhiser, sophomore tailback Kyle Perry and junior receivers Matthew Timothy and Tyler Harris will be the offensive building blocks of the future. If you can make plays, chances are Puailoa will find a way to get the ball in your hands.
Another key for future success is offensive line coach Crosby Tajan, as good a high school position coach as you’ll find in North Idaho, if not the entire state.
Knowing the X’s and the O’s is only part of what makes a great coach. What sticks out most when watching Tajan is the example he sets for his players. He’s often the first person to pick up a Sandpoint ball carrier after a tackle near the sideline, and he’s always encouraging his linemen to cheer on the defense. Those are the small things that ultimately make great players.
Tajan should know. The former Bulldog walked on at the University of Idaho and grew into a 6-foot-5, 280 pound two-year starter at left tackle for the Vandals under then coach Chris Tormey.
“I just think he has a burning desire,” Tormey said of Tajan in 1996. “He’s got great work habits and it’s great to see that.”
It’s also great to see those very habits being passed on to SHS athletes.
The Sandpoint Jr. Tackle program also continues to grow, and another great season is in the books, as the next generation of Bulldog football players cut their teeth at the youth levels from 3rd-8th grades.
A big thanks goes out to all of the Jr. Tackle coaches who volunteer their time for the sake of the kids. Coaches at that level have a big impact on athletes, and the sportsmanship I saw from all of the teams was commendable.
Finally, I’d like to touch on an incident that every coach at every level could learn from. The Sandpoint 7th grade team was facing a strong Mead team in Spokane this season, and despite a game effort, Sandpoint trailed by more than 30 points late in the fourth quarter.
The Mead running back, whose dad was a former college football player and the head coach, could have scored another touchdown with a couple of minutes remaining, but opted run out of bounds on his own at the five yard line. The team then proceeded to take three knees and run out the clock, opting not to run up the score.
It was a classy gesture, and a great message to send to all of the kids on the field about winning and losing the right way. It was also a show of respect to Sandpoint, which never stopped fighting for four quarters despite being down.
Small scenes like that are what make sports so great.
Onward to winter sports.