Big third quarter propels Bengals past Bulldogs

LEWISTON — The Bulldogs hung with the Bengals for the first two quarters, but a huge third quarter proved pivotal as Lewiston scored 21 unanswered points to notch a 42-12 win over Sandpoint in a nonleague football affair Friday night at Lewiston High School.

Sandpoint (1-4) got a strong defensive effort in the first half, with big plays turned in by Thomas Aleto, Tag Bennefield, Connor Hutchings, William Treadaway and sophomore Elijah Larson, who nabbed an interception in his first varsity action.

The Sandpoint offense once again struggled to sustain any drives or momentum, and the Bengals (4-1) took a 14-0 lead. In the final minute of the first half, the Bulldogs gained some momentum when Jaxon Pettit threw a 43 yard strike to Alex Stockton to cut the lead to 13-6 heading into halftime.

“I was pretty excited at halftime,” said Bulldogs head coach Ryan Knowles. “We had a big play before half, that’s exciting.”

But the third quarter was all Bengals, starting with a pooch kick that hit the ground and was recovered, leading to a three yard touchdown run by Bengals quarterback Tyson Wallace, who was slinging the ball around the field all night.

On the ensuing possession, Pettit’s second interception of the game was returned for a pick six, and in just over two minutes into the third quarter the lead was up to 28-6. After another three-and-out, Wallace found Colton Jacobs for the third of their four touchdown connections, and a 35-6 lead. Jacobs finished with 213 yards receiving.

Once again, Dillan Mitton and Christian Niemela were solid in the kick return game, giving the Bulldogs short fields a number of times. The poor start to the third quarter, and the Bulldogs’ defense once again spending a lot of time on the field, proved too much to overcome.

“It started with special teams. The wheels came off in the third quarter,” lamented Knowles. “Too many incomplete passes on big balls. We can’t connect on the big play and we don’t have any explosiveness to our offense.”

Ryan Roos had a nice pass defense and Tyler Lehman a tackle for loss in the second half, as the Bulldogs defense held the Bengals to just 151 yards on 36 carries. Braden Kappen was a bright spot late in the fourth quarter, as the scat back broke some nice gains, including a 27 yard run in the final minutes to cap the scoring.

Sandpoint is at Lake City on Friday.

Sandpoint 0 6 0 6 — 12

Lewiston 0 14 21 7 — 42

Lew — Colton Jacobs 67 catch from Tyson Wallace (kick good)

Lew — Jacobs 18 catch from Wallace (kick good)

Spt — Alex Stockton 43 catch from Jaxon Pettit (kick failed)

Lew — Wallace 3 run (kick good)

Lew — Blake Holshuer 46 interception return (kick good)

Lew — Jacobs 10 catch from Wallace (kick good)

Lew — Jacobs 14 catch from Wallace (kick good)

Spt — Braden Kappen 27 run (try failed)

SHS. LEW

First Downs. 11. 21

Yds Rushing. 18-113.36-151

Passing Yards. 140. 368

QB 12-27 19-30

Interceptions 2 1

Punts-Ave. 5-32. 2-33

Penalties 4-35. 4-30

Sandpoint Rushing: Dillan Mitton 12-24, Jaxon Pettit 3-2, Alex Stockton 3-14, Christian Niemela 2-7, Brayden Kappen 8-66

Sandpoint Receiving: Dillan Mitton 1-15, Ryan Bloomberg 2-14, Alex Stockton 7-83, Christian Niemela 2-19, Hunter Elliot 1-3, Parker Coon 1-6

Lewiston Receiving: Isaiah Walker 4-83, Colt Jacobs 11-213, Blake Holshuer 1-24, Triston Thompson 1-13, Connor Spencer 1-13, Michael Bramlett 1-22

Kickoff Returns: Mitton 1-29, Christian Niemela 2-50.