Plenty on the line for the Bulldogs tonight
—Photo by JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Sandpoint senior receiver Taran McLaughlin and the Bulldogs open league play tonight. McLaughline hauled in three touchdown catches last week, and is a prime red zone target.
SANDPOINT — The dress rehearsals are over. The tough nonleague schedule in the books. Now the games carry some serious weight.
For all intents and purposes, the Bulldogs’ football season starts tonight, when they travel south to face Lakeland in a huge 4A Inland Empire League clash on the Rathdrum prairie.
The Bulldogs (2-4, 0-0 4A IEL) are coming off their best showing of the season last week, a 41-27 win over Eastmont, and will look to keep momentum rolling in their biggest game of the year to date. A win by Lakeland (4-3, 1-0 4A IEL) would put the Hawks into state with a first round bye and make the Bulldogs’ road that much tougher.
Sandpoint head coach George Yarno simply wants his team to show up and execute like they can, and the rest will take care of itself.
“Whistle one to whistle one million, if that’s what it takes,” said Yarno of his team’s mindset heading into league play. “If we play our brand of football, we have a chance to win every game we’re in.”
While the Hawks sports a better record, their schedule was much softer than Sandpoint’s. The one time the Hawks did play up, however, they hung with 5A Post Falls, falling 34-32. The Bulldogs lost their season opener to Post Falls 22-7.
But none of that matters tonight, when the Bulldogs enter league play.
“If we don’t win this football game, we’re in a lot worse position,” acknowledged Yarno, who called Lakeland much improved. “They run a lot of formations and different stuff. We prepare for anything.”
Last week the Bulldogs’ passing game found a rhythm it had been missing, and it paid off in more than 300 yards receiving and four touchdowns through the air. The balance is essential for a team whose offense is based on running the football, with teams often changing defenses to stop the run, as Eastmont did last week.
“They loaded the box, and we threw and had success,” said Yarno. “We were running better routes and the quarterback was hitting guys.”
On what figures to be a muddy track tonight, winning the line of scrimmage will be of the utmost importance. The offensive line of Tyler Connolly, Andrew Loutzenhiser, Andrew Greiff, Brent Ducken and Tyrone Larson has been improving all season, and the defensive line of Brock Browning, Zack Alamillo, Chris Jones and Hayden Emerson continues to be tough to run against.
Hunter Donahoe plays on both sides of the line, providing valuable depth in the rotation of both to keep players fresh.
Lakeland beat Moscow 28-21 last week in their league opener, and will be looking to punch their ticket to state tonight at home. A win by Sandpoint could give them the inside track to get a first round bye and host a playoff game. Two 4A IEL teams will make the playoffs this year, but only one will earn a bye.
Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Gorton Field, and Bob Witte and Chris Chatburn will call the game live on AM1400 and Rock 103.