'This loss hurts': Storied season comes to an end for SHS in state semis

REXBURG — Sandpoint football saw its state journey come to a close Friday night with a 20-0 loss to No. 1 Skyline in the 4A state semifinals.

While the Bulldogs’ season is over, it will be one fans remember for a long time. The program took a huge step forward in 2020 and the Bulldogs aren’t returning from Rexburg empty handed.

Head coach Ryan Knowles accepted a third place trophy after the defeat. It wasn’t the result Sandpoint was hoping for, but Knowles said he couldn’t be prouder of his team.

“This loss hurts, it sucks,” he said. “There’s a lot of tears, a lot of disappointment for it being over, but these tears are going to go away and they are going to realize that the work that they put in was rewarded. You saw the stuff happening in the town this week with the proclamation by the mayor and watch parties at Sweet Lou’s, just rallying the community in a really tough time with COVID. People are looking for something to believe in right now and something to do, so I just can’t stop praising our guys enough on just their toughness to see through COVID and keep working.”

This season was full of milestones for the Bulldogs. The team broke through and beat Moscow for the first time in three years, secured a 4A Inland Empire title and got back to the state semifinals for the first time since 2015.

Knowles said the accolades the Bulldogs were able to rack up this fall show where the program is headed.

“The wheels keep on turnin’,” he said. “Most people outside the program didn’t believe when we were 1-4 that we were doing anything right and we knew who we were. We knew what we were doing, we knew the experience we were getting a lot of young players.”

For most of the season, Sandpoint started five sophomores. Knowles said there is a lot of talent coming back next year and the future is bright.

“We’ll grow,” he said. “We got a lot of positives to grow on from this season. We’re still moving the program here, we’re still raising expectations.”

The game was a slugfest. The playing surface at Madison High School remained clear in the first half, but in the final 24 minutes the field turned into the frozen tundra. A blizzard blew through, blanketing the field in snow and gusty winds made temperatures frigid.

The playing conditions felt eerily similar to the Bulldogs’ snow bowl game at Lakeland on Oct. 23.

“The weather was unreal,” Knowles said. “There was just an inability for either offense to move the ball and you knew it was going to be a low scoring game. It felt a lot like the Lakeland game, it was just the reality of it and when they got that first score it was pretty deflating, and they knew it and you try and fight it, but it’s just tough.”

The weather certainly played a significant role in the game and helped the score remain tied for nearly three quarters before Skyline broke through with 1:29 left in the third to take a 6-0 lead.

After that score, the game quickly got away from the Bulldogs.

On its next possession, a punt by Sandpoint was partially blocked and allowed the Grizzlies to take over on a short field. Four plays later, Skyline punched it in to take a 12-0 lead.

On the next Bulldog drive, a pass by sophomore quarterback Parker Pettit was picked and returned 30 yards for a touchdown. The play essentially sealed the win for Skyline.

“It was kind of hard to watch because you spend a lot of time with these seniors and you realize that their time is up,” Knowles said.

The Sandpoint defense forced five turnovers in the game including three deep in their own territory, but the offense couldn’t get anything going all night.

The Bulldogs only crossed midfield twice in the game. The first came on a solid drive in the second quarter. In nine plays, Sandpoint got down to the Skyline 37-yard-line before the drive stalled and they were forced to punt.

The second time Sandpoint crossed midfield was in the third quarter when junior Cody Steiger intercepted a pass by Marlow and returned it to the Grizzlies 38-yard-line. But a holding penalty on first down backed the Bulldogs up and they couldn’t recover, and were forced to punt again.

Steiger also secured an interception on the goal line late in the fourth quarter.

Sandpoint punted nine times in the game, only had a handful of first downs and had just 100 total yards of offense.

The game was a battle of field position and the Bulldogs lost that bout all night.

Knowles said his offense had a few opportunities but couldn’t capitalize and he added that some mistakes on special teams and untimely penalties came back to bite the Bulldogs.

“We can’t hurt ourselves with penalties,” he said. “We had a lot of personal fouls tonight that we addressed and they still happened … and that’s something that has to change.”

Pettit finished with 32 passing yards and 38 on the ground. Junior running back Gerrit Cox carried the ball 13 times for 21 yards.

The Sandpoint defense held Skyline to 144 yards through the air and 132 on the ground. The Bulldogs continued their bend but don’t break mentality and Tag Benefield, Blake Sherrill, Keith Jensen, Trevan Adam, Wes Benefield and others made plays all over the field. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.

Sandpoint finishes the season with a 5-5 record. Knowles said this senior class is full of difference makers and the resilience they showed this season won’t be forgotten.

“There’s something to be said for this group of seniors that really made a stand on a bye week, came back and we were 4-1 against the 4A,” he said.

The Bulldogs traveled down to Eastern Idaho looking to make a statement and Knowles said they did with their grit and toughness.

“Skyline won but they knew how physical we are,” he said. “It wasn’t an easy win for them.”

Knowles said the process to get back to this point and beyond next year starts Monday, and he’s looking forward to it.

“That’s what people are starting to understand is that it never ends,” he said.

Sandpoint 0 0 0 0 — 0

Skyline 0 0 6 14 — 20

Scoring summary

Third quarter

S — Marlow 13 rush (PAT blocked), 1:29

Fourth quarter

S — Silverio 5 pass from Marlow (2-pt failed), 10:07

S — Owen 30 interception return (2-pt good), 9:10

INDIVIDUAL STATS

RUSHING — Sandpoint: Cox 13-21, Pettit 12-38, Kappen 4-9. Skyline: Swafford 10-49, Silverio 10 (-4), Marlow 7-51, Maloney 3-3, Taggart 1-34, Eames 1 (-1).

PASSING — Sandpoint: Pettit 4-15-1 32. Skyline: Marlow 15-26-3 144.

RECEIVING — Sandpoint: Thielbahr 2-12, Cox 1-12, Newhart 1-8. Skyline: Sadiq 2-45, Eames 2-11, Maloney 4-51, Silverio 2-21, Swafford 2-2, Taggart 2-25, Cruz 1-5.