Bulldogs beat down Bears in 4A IEL opener
MOSCOW — A clutch 99 yard game-winning drive, a dominating defensive effort and winning the turnover battle all added up to a 21-14 win for Sandpoint over Moscow in a 4A Inland Empire League opener Friday night in Moscow.
The Bulldogs (3-4) finally put together four solid quarters of football, starting the game with a 90-yard touchdown drive and ending it with a 99-yard drive, while holding the Bears (3-5) to a paltry 176 yards of total offense on the night. The win gives the Bulldogs the upper hand in the chase for the lone 4A North state playoff berth.
“This was a true team win, now we’re in position to control our own destiny,” said Bulldogs head coach Satini Puailoa. “We’ve been working long and hard to get this thing turned in the right direction.”
Junior quarterback Nate Loutzenhiser was sharp under center, completing 11-16 passes for 162 yards and no interceptions, while picking up a host of big third down conversions to keep drives alive.
Senior running back Carson Paull scored on a pair of five yard runs for the Bulldogs, whose offensive line was able to win the battle of the trenches against a much larger Moscow defensive front. Paull finished with 19 carries for 107 yards, and Curtis Roop 19 carries for 91 yards, as the Bulldogs controlled time of possession and finished drives.
On Sandpoint’s first drive, a 20-yard run by Thomas Edwards, a 27-yard screen pass by Paull and an 11-yard catch by Chase Rodriguez, who returned from injury, set up Matthew Timothy’s 11-yard reverse to cap a 90-yard drive and give the Bulldogs an early 7-0 lead and momentum on the road.
Moscow answered early in the second quarter to tie the game, but the Bulldogs scored again on the ensuing possession. Keyed by a 36-yard catch from Timothy, Paull hit a cut-back lane and scored the first of his two touchdowns to give the Bulldogs a 14-7 lead at half.
Clayton Pell nabbed two interceptions for the stingy Bulldogs defense, Jonathan McCormick had a sack and two tackles for loss, and Talon Egbers was disruptive on the defensive line, including a game-clinching sack on Moscow’s last drive.
After Moscow tied the game at 14-14 early in the fourth quarter, the Bears punted the ball down to Sandpoint’s one yard line, where Loutzenhiser and the offense went to work. In arguably the best drive of the season, the Bulldogs marched 99 yards in 6:30 to take a 21-14 lead late in the game after Paull’s second score.
Matthew Timothy hauled in three catches for 56 yards, Rodriguez added five catches for 66 yards and Thomas Edwards had 23 yards receiving, including two big catches for first downs, as the Bulldogs spread it around offensively.
“Our kids found a way to win, we hung in there,” said Puailoa. “We’re so close to taking off. We keep getting better, and the kids are learning how to battle and stay focused.”
The Bulldogs were on the short end of a few poor calls by the notorious district two officials, including an inexplicable loss of a down on one possession, but still found a way to grind out a rock-solid win.
The Bulldogs head to Clarkston next Friday for a final tuneup before the regular season finale at home against Lakeland, which figures to determine who goes to state.
Sandpoint 7 7 0 7 — 21
Moscow 0 7 0 7 — 14
Spt — Matthew Timothy 11 run (Quinn Pearlstein kick)
Mos — Sean Kiblin 5 run (Alex Albrecht kick)
Spt — Eric Paull 5 run (Pearlstein kick)
Mos — Nick Ellison 14 catch from Jake Clark (Albrecht kick)
Spt — Paull 5 run (Pearlstein kick)