'I truly feel like we can do anything': SHS football hosts Hillcrest in state opener tonight

SANDPOINT — All season long the Sandpoint football team has lived by one motto — Protect the Point.

The moniker carried the Bulldogs through a tumultuous offseason filled with uncertainty and helped them capture their first 4A Inland Empire League title since 2017.

But the job isn’t finished yet and Sandpoint isn’t satisfied with a district crown, they want more and the team knows they are well-equipped to make a state run.

“I truly feel like we can do anything if we just play to our full potential,” junior Gerrit Cox said.

The Bulldogs (3-4), the fifth seed, open the 4A state playoffs 7 p.m. tonight when they host No. 12 Hillcrest (4-5) at War Memorial Field.

Earning a state playoff game has been at the forefront of the players’ minds all season and it took a goal-line stand against Lakeland last week to accomplish the feat.

The past two years, Sandpoint made grueling trips down to southeastern Idaho to open state and the results weren’t pretty. The Bulldogs lost at Hillcrest 45-0 in 2018 and 40-6 at Blackfoot last season.

“Getting the home game, that’s probably the biggest thing that kept us going is just getting the seniors another home game here,” Cox said.

Head coach Ryan Knowles said playing in the friendly confines of Barlow Stadium is a huge advantage and Cox believes it can be the difference Friday night.

“All the guys that played last year know how it is to travel super far and lose,” he said. “It would definitely feel good to put somebody else in that position and have us walk out as winners.”

Senior Tag Benefield started at linebacker on the team that got shut out by Hillcrest two years ago. He said it would feel great to get back at the Knights on Friday and hand them the taste of defeat.

That was Knowles’ first year at the helm and he said Hillcrest still has the same identity. Unlike most offenses today, the Knights rarely throw the ball outside. Instead they rely on a power-run game and sweeps to their receivers to stretch the defense.

Knowles said his defensive front will need to be ready for a fight to control the line of scrimmage.

“It’s really a throwback and it’s going to be a physical game,” he said about the Knights style. “It’s going to be a very stout opponent.”

This season has been full of ups and downs for the Bulldogs, but they’ve gotten stronger as the season has progressed. That was evident last Friday when they took down Lakeland 6-0 on a field covered in snow.

Knowles said his team’s resilience is unmatched and that attitude has carried them to this point in the season.

“I was proud of our boys for being the team to withstand everything we went through,” he said about the win over the Hawks. “They got it done and deserve to be excited and confident.”

Cox was responsible for the only points in that game, taking a punt 61 yards to the house with seconds remaining in the first half.

At the time, Cox had no idea his touchdown would end up being the difference in the game.

Cox said playing in the snow was a surreal moment and one he won’t ever forget.

“I was like this is a movie, this isn’t even real,” he said.

Cox said his teammates were pretty hyped after his punt return touchdown, maybe a little too much.

“After the punt ... they were all trying to get me into the snowbank in the back of the end zone,” he said. “I don’t know if that was on purpose or just out of excitement, I was like ‘OK boys.’ I thought they were going to try and bury me.”

The story this season has been the emergence of the sophomore class. Five are starting on varsity — quarterback Parker Pettit, wide receiver Cody Newhart, linebacker Wes Benefield and guards Wylan Dorrell and Carson Laybourne. Six if you include wide receiver Arie VanDenBerg who has seen plenty of playing time.

Despite their youth, Knowles isn’t surprised the sophomores have made their imprint on this team.

“They’ve been working their butts off since the day I met them,” he said. “Varsity is a big jump for a sophomore and I’m really proud of all those guys for getting in there and stepping up. The future is very bright.”

Pettit has led the charge for the sophomores after he gained control of the starting quarterback job in the third game this season.

Pettit said it felt good to earn the starting job, but it wasn’t definitely taxing mentally and physically.

“It was a lot of work,” he said. “Every game and practice was super stressful. Every pass mattered.”

Knowles had high praise for Pettit.

“Parker’s a tremendous athlete,” he said. “He’s really starting to blossom at quarterback and he’s going to continue to grow.”

The Bulldogs’ offense got off to a rough start this season, mainly due to the tough 5A defenses they faced in their first five games. But the team has found its rhythm and two weeks ago in a 31-21 win over Moscow, Pettit had a standout game throwing for 309 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Despite the offensive outburst in that game, Pettit said he doesn’t feel like the offense has reached its full potential yet.

“We can do a lot better than we’ve been doing and I think we’ll do that this week, hopefully,” he said.

Pettit said he’s really settled into the offense and having some of his fellow classmates around him, including his go-to target in Newhart, has brought him plenty of comfort.

“He’s been my No. 1 since elementary school,” he said about his connection with Newhart. “I’m really comfortable throwing it to him because we’ve been doing it for so long.”

Pettit said those games against Post Falls, Coeur d’Alene and Lake City earlier this season have prepared the Bulldogs for any challenge they will face during their state run.

Pettit has gotten used to the demands and expectations that come with starting under center for the Bulldogs, but he knows playing under the lights at War Memorial Field in the state playoffs will be a whole different animal.

“It’s going to be pretty nerve racking, but I’m feeling pretty good about it,” he said.

The Sandpoint defense has also stepped up down the stretch and Benefield said this year’s team has meshed really well as a unit.

“We might not be as physically talented on defense, but I think we’re a lot more mentally talented on defense,” he said. “We know exactly what we need to do every single play and we know exactly what we gotta get done.”

This season, Benefield has been able to play right next to his young brother, Wes, at linebacker. Benefield said they always hoped they would get a chance to play together on varsity and it was a special moment when they did it for the first time.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “Dream come true basically.”

Knowles said Wes is a tackle machine and it’s been great watching the brothers lineup side-by-side.

“He has worked his way into being one of our best players on defense,” he said about Wes. “I look at that and I credit him for just absolutely grabbing the position and taking it and making it his. It makes coaching easy when a guy just takes a position and runs with it.”

The last four years, Sandpoint hasn’t made it past the first round of the state playoffs.

To avoid going one-and-done at state, Knowles said the Bulldogs need to play assignment football and not make mental mistakes that will put them behind the chains.

Knowles said he wants to see the passing attack shine during the playoffs because it will take the pressure off the run game and open up everything on offense.

“Just about everyone we play likes to stack the box and make the run tough sledding,” he said. “That’s what good teams do, they make you throw the ball. They make you one dimensional.”

Cox said the Bulldogs are hungry and he wants the younger players to go out there and compete for the seniors who are looking to cap their careers with a state run.

“Mainly just understand that it’s all or nothing right now,” he said. “This is either we could keep playing for a championship or this could be some of our guys’ last game ever.”

Benefield said the team needs to focus on the task at hand and not take any plays off. He’s confident this team can get the job done.

"We just can’t get beat by ourselves,” he said. “I know we got the coaches and I know we got the players, all we have to do is execute because if we execute … we can be the best team in the state.”

If you can’t make it to the game, you can listen to it on AM 1400 KSPT or ROCK 103 (FM 102.9).

With a win, Sandpoint would face the winner of No. 4 Jerome and No. 13 Moscow in the 4A state quarterfinals next week.