Sandpoint eyes history in state semifinal bout with No. 1 Skyline

REXBURG — It’s finally game day and the Bulldogs will be looking to etch their name in the school record books when they take the field tonight.

Sandpoint (5-4) has advanced to the state title game four times in its history — 1997, 2003, 2009 and 2015. SHS can make it five with a victory over Skyline in the 4A state semifinals on Friday.

Head coach Ryan Knowles said he and the players recognize the significance of a win over the Grizzlies, but he admitted it’s “a fine line to walk.”

The thought of competing for a state title is certainly motivating the team, but Knowles said they can’t get ahead of themselves.

“It’s always there, you’re always thinking about it, yet if you don’t take care of this week, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “We’re four good quarters away from a chance at the ultimate prize and I’m not going to shy away from it.”

Knowles has been a part of several championship runs during his playing and coaching career. He said he’s been thinking about playing for a state title for months, and he isn’t surprised his team has made it to this point.

But over a month ago, competing for a berth in the state title didn’t look like it was in the cards.

At that point, the Bulldogs were sitting with a 1-4 record after a 21-13 loss at Lake City. However, the record didn’t tell the story.

Sandpoint played five games against 5A Inland Empire League teams to open the season in a year where summer camps and physical contact were virtually non-existent due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It took time for the Bulldogs to figure out who they are and what they are capable of, but once they did, the team took off.

Now Sandpoint enters Friday’s game against the top-ranked 4A team in the state with a four-game winning streak and a wealth of confidence.

The Bulldogs have been underestimated all season and some doubted they could make it this far, but one thing is for sure — Skyline better be ready for a fight.

“I think a lot of pressure is on them,” offensive coordinator Jeremy Thielbahr said. “No one thought we were going to be here, nobody gave us a chance at all in the middle of the season.”

Skyline is no stranger to success. The Grizzlies have won six 4A state titles, including back-to-back in 2016 and 2017. The team is 10-1 this season and their only loss came at Rigby, the No. 2 ranked team in 5A.

Sandpoint and Skyline share one common opponent this season — Hillcrest. The Grizzlies took down the Knights 33-15 on Oct. 16 while the Bulldogs beat Hillcrest 30-27 in the first round of the state playoffs.

Offensive line coach George Yarno Jr. is pretty familiar with the Grizzlies. When he coached at Highland, he saw Skyline frequently for about a decade and he knows the type of program they’ve built.

It’s a tall task, but Yarno said the Bulldogs are more than capable of getting the job done.

“I like our chances,” he said. “They’re good though and we can’t take any plays off, we’re going to have to bring our A game.”

Sandpoint is fresh off a dominant 31-13 quarterfinal win over league rival Moscow. The Bulldogs were the aggressor throughout that game and the offense continued humming, scoring 30 points for the third time in the last four games.

It took a few games for the Bulldogs to figure out that sophomore Parker Pettit deserved to be the starting quarterback, but once they did the offense gradually took off.

Thielbahr said Pettit has come a long way since the start of the season and the players around him have gotten comfortable with him at the helm of the offense.

Thielbahr added that he feels really good about the strides the team has taken offensively.

“It takes time to develop that sort of chemistry,” he said. “We’re starting to put the right pieces together and we’re going to be explosive, and it’s fun to see the young guys produce at the level that they have. I’ve never started five sophomores on offense and it’s been a great experiment, and so far it’s paid off.”

Due to the uncertainty at the beginning of the season, Thielbahr said he simplified the offense at the start, but now it’s evolved into a well-oiled machine that keeps defenses on their toes.

Sophomore running back Gerrit Cox led the way for the Bulldogs in the second half of last week’s game, finishing with 145 yards on 22 carries, while Pettit threw for 105 yards and tallied three total touchdowns.

Each week it seems like someone different shines on offense for Sandpoint and Thielbahr has thoroughly enjoyed getting all his weapons the ball.

“It’s nice seeing us being able to take advantage of what the defense is doing,” he said. “I’m very happy for all of our guys getting involved. Eventually, we’re going to have to get absolutely everybody involved.”

Early on this season, the Sandpoint offensive line went through some growing pains and struggled to find the right mix. But a pair of sophomores — Wylan Dorrell and Carson Laybourne — rose to the occasion and have been instrumental in the team’s recent success.

Yarno said it’s been impressive watching a pair of sophomores leave such a mark on the team, and he added that both are mature beyond their years.

“They’ve come a long, long way,” he said. “I expect both of them to have really good careers ahead of them, too. They are playing really good football right now. They are starting to figure out what it takes and I played varsity football as a sophomore and remember how scary it was and the fact that these guys just show up every day and they give you everything they got, they’re only going to get better.”

Senior left tackle Marcus Anderson has been the one constant this year while Brandon Sargent and Max Knight have both seen significant playing time at center. At right tackle, Keith Jensen has taken hold of the starting job.

Jensen, a senior, also starts at defensive tackle for the Bulldogs. Yarno said it’s not easy playing both sides of the ball, but Jensen was willing to do it for the betterment of the team, which says a lot about the person he is.

“Keith is one of our very best football players,” he said, “and we approached Keith and said, ‘Hey, look if you don’t play both ways we may not win,’ and he sacrificed and did whatever he needed to do for the team, and that’s one of the reasons we are where we are.”

Yarno said his unit has built a tight bond over the last few months and knows they will need to be at their best against a tough Skyline front.

“Their defensive line is really good,” he said. “They play fast and they play hard. I told my guys we’re going to have to play really well if we want to beat these guys.”

Thielbahr said the Skyline offense gets all the buzz, but their defense is no joke.

“We got to counter their emotion,” he said. “You throw on the tape and your eyes pop out like wow everybody’s running to the ball, everybody’s playing whistle to whistle, and so we’ve got to match that intensity.”

The Grizzlies have held their opponents to an average of just under 13 points per game this fall, and they’ve pitched three shutouts.

The Bulldog offense relies on attacking one-on-one matchups and winning them. Thielbahr believes they can counter Skyline’s aggressive 4-2-5 defense that loves to blitz and isn’t afraid to send the house at the quarterback.

He also said the Grizzlies will make some plays and his offense needs to be able to weather that storm and not get discouraged.

“I think this week we got a couple new wrinkles,” he said, “and it depends on what they’re showing us to see if you’ll use them and we’ve got to be prepared for what they do.”

In their quarterfinal game last Friday against Nampa, Skyline tallied 224 yards on the ground and 179 through the air en route to a 42-21 win. The Grizzlies averaged 7.5 yards per carry in the contest and Abrahn Silverio ran for 127 yards on 12 carries.

Skyline will be without star wide receiver Eli Ames for Friday’s game, according to the Post Register. He suffered a groin injury in the game against Nampa, a source told the Register.

Knowles said the Grizzlies have a number of different playmakers his defense will need to keep an eye on and their depth is apparent.

“It’s a tough offense because of the players in it,” he said. “They have some tremendous athletes out there.”

Knowles said the team celebrated last week’s win against Moscow, but they quickly turned the page and began prepping for Skyline.

“This is the time of year where you got to move on because it’s a one-week season, it really is,” he said.

Knowles said he poured over hours of film just like he always does and he feels he has a good grasp of what the Grizzlies like to do offensively.

Skyline is an unfamiliar opponent to the Bulldogs, but Knowles said his players and coaches have done their due diligence to understand the Grizzlies unique offense.

Skyline utilizes slotbacks and motion pretty frequently and loves to hand the ball off on jet sweeps and reverses.

Knowles said they’ve “seen bits and pieces” of this offense throughout the season and the Bulldogs are ready for whatever the Grizzlies throw their way.

“As they get locked in it’s a good feeling, it’s a really good feeling,” Knowles said about his players.

This is the first time Sandpoint has hit the road this postseason. Knowles said it’s important that his team travels well and avoids distractions along the way.

In order to do just that and stay in a routine, the Bulldogs left for Rexburg in charter buses on Thursday morning and stayed the night in Butte, Montana.

Knowles believes his team won’t allow the long bus ride to impact their play.

“I look forward to traveling with this team,” he said on Wednesday. “This team is about business, this team is about doing their job and when you're with teams like this and you travel, it’s fun … There’s less problems with a team at this level.”

Teams from North Idaho have struggled in the 4A state playoffs in recent years and Knowles said they’ve certainly earned that reputation. But that narrative has started to change this season and the Bulldogs are ready to prove they can go toe-to-toe with anyone.

“That’s been the rally cry all week — we got to go east,” he said. “We conquered the north last week, we got to go east and if you want to be the best, you gotta beat the east and if you beat the east, guess what here comes the south. We’re just playing for keeps now.”

Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. PST at Madison High School. You can listen to the game on AM 1400 KSPT, ROCK 103 (FM 102.9) or rock103fm.com. A livestream is available at nfhsnetwork.com. Cost is $10.99.