Bulldogs and Bengals renew old acquaintances
SANDPOINT — Another week, another salty game on the schedule for the Bulldogs, who hit the road to face 5A Lewiston tonight in nonleague football action.
Last year the Bulldogs lost 33-26 to the Bengals at home, as Payton Cox nabbed an interception and Declan Plummer tossed two touchdown passes. The Bengals return a lot of the starters from that win, and are off to a quick start this year.
Lewiston (3-1) owns a pair of 28-0 shutouts over Clarkston and Shadle Park, a 26-10 win over Wenatchee and a season opening 34-33 loss to Idaho Falls this season. The Bengals are allowing an average of just 11 points a game defensively, so the Bulldogs will once again have their work cut out for them.
Sandpoint (1-3) is no stranger to facing tough defenses, having cut their teeth in the early season against Post Falls, University and Mt. Spokane. A quick start will be imperative for the Bulldogs, who have dug quick and sizable deficits against the aforementioned teams, including a 35-0 halftime deficit last week against a tough Mt. Spokane team.
Alex Stockton was a bright spot in defeat last week, with a handful of catches and runs that went for positive yards, while Plummer had some positive gains passing, catching and running the football in second half action. Running back Dillan Mitton scored his third touchdown for the only score.
Payton Cox had several big hits to lead the defense last week, including a 13 yard sack that knocked the starting quarterback out of the game.
While the results haven’t been what first year head coach Ryan Knowles might want, it’s important to recognize that the Bulldogs are playing up in class in five of their first six games, and in a combat sport like football that means facing extra size, speed, skill and physicality.
The heavyweight schedule always pays dividends come the all-important league games, when the Bulldogs finally pick on someone their own size in the two games that matter most in the grand scheme of things.
Kickoff tonight is at 7 p.m. at Lewiston High School.
Chris Chatburn and Steve Youngdahl will call the game live on AM1400, with the Yoke’s pre-game show kicking things off at 6:40 p.m.
n Clark Fork hits the road to face Northport
CLARK FORK — After three straight North Star League wins, the Wampus Cats will bus north to Northport, Washington for a nonleague football affair tonight.
The Cats (3-1) have been impressive, outscoring Lakeside, Kootenai and Mullan/St. Regis 134-38. Northport (0-3) is still seeking its first win, and the Cats will no doubt use the game as a final tuneup before a big showdown with No. 2 state ranked Kendrick next Friday.
Quarterback/safety Cameron Garcia has been a breakout player for the Cats, making impact plays on both sides of the ball, while Dakota West, Theo Icardo, Nate Hernandez, Josh Constantin and Charlie Abbott are doing what head coach Brian Arthun thought they would, and doing it very well so far.
“I really like the combination of chemistry, the family like culture we have created, the unselfishness and willingness to play for each other, and the business-like approach they take towards practice,” said Arthun. “Every week they continue to make strides.”