35-9 win gives Sandpoint football its best start since 2010

SANDPOINT — Friday night’s win was, in a word, thorough.

In 45 words: Sandpoint’s 35-9 win over Connell was a coming-out party of sorts for its receiving corps, its stingy front-seven and a palpable resurgence under second-year head coach Ryan Knowles. Every phase of the game was firing on all cylinders until the Bulldogs sent in the backups.

“The first three quarters were pretty thorough — just how you want it,” Knowles said. “Connell is a smaller good team — I give them credit, they were physical ­— but it wasn’t about them tonight. I think we’re taking some steps forward as an operation. I’ve been really happy with our operation and our preparation is being reflected on the field.”

Connell, a team that won seven games in the WIAA’s 1A classification last season, showed some moxie on the opening drive.

Undaunted by playing at a larger school’s home opener, the Eagles went for it on fourth-and-one just inside Sandpoint territory, but 6’4” defensive lineman Keith Jensen and the defense stuffed them at the line of scrimmage.

That defensive stop set the tone for the rest of the night. By and large, Knowles notes that the Bulldogs are right on schedule with adjusting to his defense in year two.

“You can see [the defense] start to gel right now, and it’s pretty fun to watch,” Knowles said. “When you’ve a got like Keith Jensen in the middle, he’s hard to block. And it all starts from there. Behind him is Tag Benefield, who is a tackle machine — I’d be surprised if he doesn’t lead the state in tackles.”

Sandpoint’s front seven made life difficult for Connell’s Jekoby Tuttle (20 carries, 41 yards). As a team, the Eagles only managed 66 yards on the ground the entire game.

The Bulldogs didn’t give up any big plays until the backups came in during the fourth quarter; the Eagles’ biggest play was a 31-yard reception from Keyan Francois midway through the fourth quarter.

All in all, the only sure-thing about Connell’s offense was 6’3” freshman tight end Cade Clyde, who had five catches for 56 yards on seven targets, plus a 19-yard touchdown catch wiped away by a holding penalty.

With the defense holding its ground, the Bulldogs’ offense stole the show. Tag Benefield’s one-yard run put Sandpoint up midway through the first and, to their credit, the Bulldogs didn’t look back.

Midway through the second quarter, another third-down stand from the Bulldogs’ defense forced the Eagles to try a field goal at Sandpoint’s 10-yard-line, but the kick was no good.

Spurred on by the miss, the offensive fireworks commenced.

Merely three games into adjusting to Jeremy Thielbahr’s offense, Sandpoint quarterback Jaxon Pettit threw for 203 yards and three touchdowns — all without getting sacked or turning the ball over.

But Sandpoint’s receiving corps stole the show.

Want a big play? Christian Niemela’s 82-yarder in the second quarter — in which he lined up alone on the right side, caught Pettit’s pass on a post route around midfield and turned on the jets — is currently the Bulldogs’ biggest offensive play of the year.

Need to seam a pass through traffic? Elijah Larson, who caught Pettit’s pass in the back of the endzone with not one, but two defenders draped on him, says hello.

Not to be overshadowed by the wideouts, 6’2” junior Max Thielbahr used his size and nimbleness to knife his way through the heart of Connell’s defense — most notably with a 13-yard score to make it 28-0.

“There are so many threats — [Jeremy Thielbahr] can call anyone’s number at any point,” Knowles said. “He does a good job mixing things around and keeping everyone involved, because that’s what you want. I’m excited for them because it keeps their heads in the game.”

The Bulldogs versatility also applied to the running backs. On the opening drive of the second half, Gerrit Cox (15 rushes, 106 yards) had his number called on for four-straight plays, then on fourth-and-two, Benefield blasted through the line of scrimmage for a gain of 11.

Two runs later, Benefield found the endzone.

And now, this versatile offense and stout defense is off to a 2-1 start — its best since 2010 — and merely one win away from tying last season’s win total.

Sandpoint (2-1) takes on Mt. Spokane at home next Friday at 7 p.m.

Connell 0 0 0 9 ­— 9

Sandpoint 7 21 7 0 ­— 35

First quarter

SHS ­— Tag Benefield 1 run (Dylan Peterson kick), 7:23

Second quarter

SHS ­— Christian Niemela 82 pass from Jaxon Pettit (Dylan Peterson kick), 9:06

SHS ­— Elijah Larson 29 pass from Jaxon Pettit (Dylan Peterson kick), 5:49

SHS ­— Max Thielbahr 13 pass from Jaxon Pettit (Dylan Peterson kick), 2:27

Third quarter

SHS — Tag Benefield 12 run (Dylan Peterson kick), 7:36

Fourth quarter

CHS — Safety (holding in the endzone), 2:24

CHS — Josiah Poulson 7 pass from Traver Johnson (Alemu Keskitalo kick), 1:01

Individual statistics

PASSING: SHS — Jaxon Pettit, 13-24-3-203. CHS — Traver Johnson, 20-32-1-184

RUSHING: SHS — Gerrit Cox 15-106, Tag Benefield 7-68, Elijah Larson 1-(-5), Gordy Dowd 2-2, Sam Puckett 1-6, Will Hurst 2-0, Auggie Lehman 1-(-17), Max Thielbahr 1-(-1). CHS — Jekoby Tuttle 20-41, Jaxen Tuttle 3-13, unknown, 2-8, Traver Johnson 4-4

RECEIVING: SHS — Christian Niemela 2-89, Gerrit Cox 1-17, Max Thielbahr 4-49, Elijah Larson 5-44, Tyler Lehman 1-4. CHS — Keyan Francois 6-68, Cade Clyde 5-56, Isaac Vanness 3-39, Josiah Poulson 5-12, Jaxen Tuttle 1-9.