SHS football reloads, looks for key returners to step up this fall

SANDPOINT — The Sandpoint football team strapped on the shoulder pads on Aug. 12 for the first time since falling to Blackfoot in the first round of the 4A state playoffs last November.

During the summer, players are used to competing at camps to test their skills against other athletes in the area and coaches use the time to groom the incoming sophomores and players stepping up from JV. But the Bulldogs didn’t get that this year and neither did anyone else around the state.

The coronavirus pandemic presented every football team with a unique challenge — how do we get better without having contact with one another?

For the Bulldogs, that meant stepping it up in the weight room. Four days a week from 8 a.m. to noon, the team was grinding in the weight room and trying to outwork every opponent they’ll face this season.

Head coach Ryan Knowles said the team has been taking it one day at a time because at any moment it could all be taken away.

“Our guys have faced this thing with some courage and our weight room attendance this summer has been outstanding,” he said.

Knowles said the hardest part has been adjusting plans in the midst of all the uncertainty. Knowles gave credit to his players for staying self-motivated and refusing to let anything stop them from improving.

“These boys have learned the process,” he said. “If we don’t play they’ll be frustrated but they will still be in here lifting because this is what they’ve come to love, My expectation is we’re going to carry on, we’re going to go until someone tells us not to, we’re going to be in the weight room until they say it’s closed and we’re going to take the measures that we can to be smart ... but we’ve been living, we haven’t been sitting, waiting and hoping.”

Besides seeing massive gains in the weight room, Sandpoint has been doing footwork drills and one-on-one work with bags throughout the summer.

“We’ve been really by the book with it,” Knowles said.

Without being able to see players battle for positions on the field this summer, Knowles expects it will take a little longer to set the starters for the season opener. Knowles said there was still quite a bit of fiery competition between teammates in the weight room this offseason, which is exactly what he likes to see from his team.

The Bulldogs, who went 6-4 in 2019, will lean on a core of four all-league returners this season — senior defensive lineman Keith Jensen, senior defensive back Elijah Larson, senior outside linebacker Isaac Webb and junior running back/specialist Gerrit Cox — and a group of 16 seniors.

Knowles said those four all-league returners and senior middle linebacker Tag Benefield, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the fourth game last season, are players that show up every chance they get and prioritize football over everything else during the summer. He can’t wait to see what they’ll do this season.

“They are here every day and they are the ones that marked Aug. 10 on their calendars when the season ended last fall,” Knowles said.

The Bulldogs are young in quite a few position groups and Knowles said he wouldn’t be surprised if 10 sophomores saw significant playing time this season.

Knowles is entering his third season at the helm and the program he is trying to build is starting to take shape. From the middle school to varsity, kids are starting to understand what it takes to be a Sandpoint football player and second-year offensive coordinator Jeremy Thielbahr is proud of the progress the program has made.

“Coach Knowles has just run the ship fantastic,” he said, “and I’m excited to be a part of it and I think it’s going to be an exciting year.”

Protect the point — that’s the attitude the Bulldogs are carrying with them into the season, Thielbahr said.

“Everybody’s a little bit nervous,” he said. “I think the kids are wondering what’s happening, and this is the best thing for kids is for them to play.”

SHS loaded with skill players

This season, every defense in North Idaho should be scared of the amount of speed the Bulldogs possess on offense.

Thielbahr said he has some electric skill players that he plans on utilizing as much as possible.

“I think we got a lot of options and I’m excited to really play to our strengths,” he said.

The offense ran through star wide receiver Christian Niemela last year. He was the focal point, but Thielbahr wants to spread around the ball this fall and rely less on one individual player.

“The offense is going to change every year based on what we have,” he said. “I like the DNA, I like what we’re doing and I like the buy-in we have from the kids.”

Thielbahr said the wide receiver room is nine deep this season. That group includes Larson, senior Max Thielbahr, junior Peyton Ennis and sophomores Arie VanDenBerg and Cody Newhart. Senior Braden Kappen, a track star, has also made the switch from running back to wide receiver and he’s expected to take the top off of defenses.

“There may be no one faster in the state of Idaho than Kappen and we’re going to take advantage of that,” Thielbahr said.

In the backfield, the Bulldogs offense will go as far as Gerrit Cox takes them.

“When you got Gerrit Cox coming back you feel good about the offense ... he’s a great football player,” Thielbahr said.

Cox could also see some snaps at wideout because why not when you got a player that dynamic.

“You got to put a kid like that on the field and let him win you ball games and we will do that,” Thielbahr said.

Cox is a natural running back and he loves everything about the position. Cox got even stronger in the offseason and stays after practice everyday to put in extra work in the weight room. He is ready to run over anybody he meets at the line of scrimmage.

“You definitely get beat up, but it’s worth it,” he said.

Cox will continue his punt return duties and hopes to see some playing time as a hybrid safety-linebacker just like he did late last season. Cox’s versatility is endless and he’ll do anything to help the Bulldogs.

“At the beginning of last year for probably the first two or three games I was definitely a little bit scared,” he admitted, “but now I have way more confidence going into this season.”

Thielbahr is also looking forward to putting Tag Benefield in the backfield. Last season, he carried the ball into the end zone four times. Benefield offers the Bulldogs a unique running style. He is a bruiser and is hard to bring down.

“Tag’s a wolf at running back,” Thielbahr said. “He’s a juggernaut.”

The biggest question for Sandpoint is, who will get to use this arsenal of weapons? 2019 starting quarterback Jaxon Pettit graduated and right now it’s a two-horse race between junior Auggie Lehman and sophomore Parker Pettit for the starting quarterback spot.

Lehman was the starter on JV last year and Pettit was the freshmen starter. Thielbahr has been impressed with the poise of both players and expects them to be great wherever they lineup this fall.

“I’m surprised at how far along Parker is,” Thielbahr said. “He’s really done a nice job this offseason picking up the offense.”

Thielbahr said there’s a lot that goes into being the starting quarterback for the Sandpoint Bulldogs. He expects the quarterback to have total command of the offense and find the best matchup on the field every play and attack it until the opposing team stops it.

Cox has seen snaps at quarterback as well, but not in your traditional fashion. Cox has been lining up in the wildcat formation and doing option plays. It’s just another wrinkle in Thielbahr’s offense and he may have a few more tricks up his sleeve with the talent he has at his disposal.

“I’d love to be as traditional as we were last year but it may not be as traditional,” he said, “and we’re just going to use a little bit more of some magic plays.”

Yarno rebuilds offensive line

All those flashy players won’t have anywhere to go if the linemen in the trenches don’t block for them. This season, offensive line coach George Yarno Jr. faces the tall task of replacing four stud seniors on the o-line.

The only returning starter on the o-line is Marcus Anderson and Yarno is hoping to flip him from right tackle to left. The remaining four spots are up for grabs, but Yarno has seen several players emerge as viable options.

Senior Max Knight has taken the lead at center while a three-way battle between senior Brandon Sargent, junior Greg Belgarde and sophomore Carson Laybourne is ongoing for the two guard spots. At right tackle, junior Mike Chapman has stepped up and shown he is more than capable.

“The biggest issue is we’re just not very experienced,” Yarno said. “There will be some growing pains the first few games, but that’s why you don’t play your league games until the end of the year.”

Yarno said all his linemen are getting better with every practice and the No. 1 attribute he looks for in his players is effort because it’s the one thing he can’t teach.

“I look for a kid that’s willing to do whatever it takes to be successful for himself and for the team,” Yarno said, “and that goes beyond the football field.”

Yarno wants his starting o-linemen to hold each other accountable and work as a cohesive unit. If they don’t, then the whole team will struggle.

Yarno said he has plenty of faith in this group of linemen.

“The future is pretty bright with this group,” he said. “We’re young, but we’re pretty dang gifted.”

Knowles looks to install swagger on defense

Defense is Ryan Knowles’ bread and butter. So it wasn’t surprising to see the Bulldogs hold four opponents to less than 12 points last season. Although, that dominant defense didn’t always stick around every game.

In last year’s season opener, Sandpoint allowed Post Falls to score 49 points. In a game at Moscow, Sandpoint gave up 32. In their playoff loss to Blackfoot, the Broncos racked up 40.

Knowles admitted his defense was hot and cold in 2019 due to several factors including injuries and the talent they faced. But the bottom line is Knowles believes his team can do much better.

Knowles saw both of his safeties and several other key contributors graduate, but he’s confident in the ability of the athletes he’s got this year.

“We’re better off now then we were a year ago at this time,” Knowles said.

Part of that confidence stems from the fact that Keith Jensen is back and eager to clog even more running lanes at nose tackle.

“He’s a monster,” Knowles said about Jensen.

Over the summer, Jensen enjoyed getting away from the world and spending time in the weight room. It became like his second home.

“It’s been really helpful for keeping my hopes up for the season,” he said.

Jensen wants to wreak havoc in the middle this season and is aiming for five sacks and 40 tackles. Jensen said only a select group of individuals are willing to get to the high school at 6:30 a.m. and practice for five hours straight and he enjoys being a part of that environment.

“I like to say I’m a Bulldog,” he said, “and I say it with pride because lots of people wouldn’t want to do some of the stuff we have to do. It’s a big honor.”

Knowles is also expecting big things from junior Will Hurst. He is moving from quarterback to defensive end and has the size, strength and speed to cause fits for any offense. Knowles said a handful of players are in the mix to fill their safety needs including Trevan Adam, Cody Steiger, Adam Bucholtz and Merek Bauck. At corner, Luke McCorkle, Peyton Ennis and Wyatt Marker are vying for the spot opposite shutdown corner Elijah Larson, the 2019 IEL defensive MVP.

“It’s a good problem to have trying to figure out how to get everyone on the field,” Knowles said.

Linebacker is where Knowles should feel most comfortable about his defense. He has Tag Benefield and Isaac Webb who both know his 3-4 defense like that back of their hand.

Webb said it was difficult without camps this summer but he believes the team handled the adversity well and he’s ready to lay someone out.

“Playing weakside linebacker you get to do a lot of blitzing and I love blitzing off the edge,” he said. “It’s just a lot of fun getting to hit people.”

For Benefield, this season is all about redemption and staying healthy.

“I just want to be able to play every game my senior year,” he said.

Benefield has improved his technique and believes the Bulldogs are prepared for something special this fall.

“I think our defense has stepped up from last year because now we got the play calls down ... and I think our defense is mentally better than we were last year,” he said.

Webb has his sights set on earning all-league honors again and is shooting for 80 tackles, five sacks and one interception this fall.

“A pick six would be pretty cool,” he added.

Knowles is looking to instill a gritty, punishing attitude on his defense this season.

“It’s there but it’s got to come from me too,” he said. “Your edge has to be you are always right to the edge.”

Webb said he has been envisioning how Sandpoint’s first game this season will play out and the whole team is seeking revenge against Post Falls.

If this season plays out like we all hope it will, Benefield feels the team can accomplish just about anything.

“We could make a run for the state championship if everything goes right,” he said. “I think our team is good enough to do that.”

Kickoff for the first game is set for 7 p.m. next Friday against the Trojans at War Memorial Field.