Bulldogs hold their own at Border League Camp

SANDPOINT — Despite being marred by a scary and unsavory ending, it was a great week of camp for the Bulldog football team, which went toe-to-toe with the biggest schools in the region and more than held its own.

Sandpoint beat Lewis and Clark and Post Falls in the goal line classic, but could not get past reigning Montana state champion Glacier, finishing third out of 16 teams, which also included Ferris, Central Valley, Lake City, Coeur d’Alene, Gonzaga Prep and a host of other Greater Spokane League schools.

“We had a great camp. We were pretty much handling these guys,” said Bulldogs head coach Satini Puailoa of playing the far bigger schools. “Our overall physicality, speed and ability to make plays was there. We’re feeling like we’re getting the best of most of it.”

An ugly incident sullied what was a strong week of drills and scrimmaging for the Bulldogs, who feel they have a team that can compete with anyone in the region. In a scrimmage against Coeur d’Alene, which Sandpoint was clearly winning, a Bulldog player had his helmet ripped off by a Viking defender, who then swung it and hit the Sandpoint player in the head, briefly knocking him out.

Things quickly got heated, but luckily cooler heads prevailed and prevented what could have been a far worse melee. The Sandpoint player was taken to a hospital, released the next day and is now recovering at home.

Puailoa wished to keep the player’s name private, as the police are dealing with the matter and the Viking player has been charged with fourth degree assault.

“It shook everybody up, it was something that happened outside the range of normal football” said Puailoa of the incident, as his team was able to compose itself before finishing out a trying day. “The kids came back in the afternoon and beat Ferris.”

Puailoa praised the play of running back Kyle Perry, quarterback Davan Norris and receivers Jake Timothy and Wyatt McCormick on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively, ends Paul Sundquist and Sam Johnson stood out, while Puailoa said he didn’t see a better pair of corners all week than Caiden Oliver and Colton Engel.

“We’ve got guys that can make plays,” said Puailoa. “But again, it’s just camp.”

After a deep playoff run last year, and with a host of starters returning on both sides of the ball, the Bulldogs are primed for another big season this fall.