Bulldogs struggle in red zone in loss to Blackhawks

CHENEY — The area on the football field from the 20 yard line to the end zone is called the red zone, but many coaches call it the green zone, as in money.

Cheney was able to cash in on their chances in the red zone, while Sandpoint struggled to finish drives, ultimately proving the difference as the Bulldogs fell 28-10 on Friday night at Cheney High School.

The Bulldogs (2-3) moved the chains all night, compiling 330 yards of rushing and 128 yards of passing, outgaining the Blackhawks (4-1) by more than 120 yards on the night. Unfortunately, finding the end zone proved difficult, as the Bulldogs didn’t score a touchdown until the final seconds of the game.

“We made a lot of good plays, went up and down the field, just didn’t finish it off,” said Bulldogs head coach Satini Puailoa, lamenting a host of missed opportunities. “Cheney finished the drives. That’s the difference between them being 4-1 and us being 2-3. They (Cheney) imposed their will on us in the third quarter.”

Quinn Pearlstein got the Bulldogs on the board in the first quarter with a 25 yard field goal, a lead that stood up until the Hawks scored in the final minute of the first half to take a 7-3 lead. Despite essentially dominating the first half, the Bulldogs found themselves trailing at half.

Sandpoint was thin at running back, with Cody Millard out prior to the game and Dean Knaggs and Kyle Perry leaving the game with injury. Curtis Roop, Carson Paull and Jake Steen stepped up to carry the load behind some solid play from the offensive line, but drive after drive ended without scoring points. Roop finished with more than 100  yards on the ground.

“We lost our backfield tonight, but other guys stepped up,” said Puailoa. “We played well enough for this to be a different outcome.”

Cheney scored 28 unanswered points, until the Bulldogs finally found paydirt when Nate Loutzenhiser found Matthew Timothy from 10 yards out for the final score late in the game.

The road doesn’t get any easier for the Bulldogs, who host 5A Lake City next Friday.

Sandpoint  3   0    0   7 — 10

Cheney     0    7   14   7 — 28

Spt — Quinn Pearlstein 25 field goal

Che — Andrew Graham 1 run (kick good)

Che — Graham 1 run (kick good)

Che — Austin Klein 1 run (kick good)

Che — Klein 10 run (kick good)

Spt — Matthew Timothy 10 catch from Nate Loutzenhiser (Pearlstein kick)