Bulldogs beat Hillcrest 30-27 with last second field goal, punch ticket to state quarterfinals

SANDPOINT — Those Bulldogs sure do like nail-biters.

With two seconds left, senior Elek Christoferson drilled a 25-yard field goal to push Sandpoint football to a 30-27 win over Hillcrest in the first round of the 4A state playoffs Friday night.

The Bulldogs locked up a spot in the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2015 with the victory.

Head coach Ryan Knowles was proud of the fight his boys showed.

"It was such a back and forth, it was like Rocky IV," he said. "It's a great feeling. I'm happy that the boys get to feel this way."

With 1:30 left in the game and the ball on their own 43, Hillcrest was faced with a fourth-and-1. Instead of punting it back to the Bulldogs, the Knights elected to go for it. The Sandpoint defense made them regret that decision. Led by senior linebacker Tag Benefield, the defense stuffed the Hillcrest ball carrier to give the ball back to the offense.

Knowles said they talked all week about this game being a "back-alley brawl," and his defense stepped up when it mattered the most.

"I kept asking the boys to rise up to this opportunity and to show how physical they are," he said. "They are a gritty bunch, they've worked their butts off in the weight room and I'm so happy for them on the defensive side. They've been committed since the beginning of this offseason to be what we were tonight. This didn't just happen tonight."

With the help of a pass interference penalty by the Knights on a third-and-8 from the Hillcrest 41 with 53 seconds left, Sandpoint was able to get down to the 26.

Six plays later, quarterback Parker Pettit found wide receiver Cody Newhart for a five-yard gain and Knowles sprinted down the sideline to call a timeout with six seconds remaining.

All eyes were on Christoferson after that. The fate of the game all came down to his right foot.

Was Knowles nervous? "Never a doubt in my mind," he said.

Christoferson came through and the kick sent the Bulldog faithful into a frenzy.

Knowles said they ended practice Wednesday kicking field goals from the right hash mark and that extra preparation paid off.

"There's always a chance that these games can come down to a point or a field goal at the last minute," he said. "You rise or fall based on the level of your training ... The second I saw where that ball was placed and where we were kicking from, I was like this is money and sure enough Elek delivered, and I couldn't be happier for a senior to do that and catapult us into the second round."

The game was a battle of contrasting styles. The Bulldogs like to spread it out on offense, go up-tempo and stay balanced. The Knights prefer to grind it out and run right at the teeth of the defense with option plays, quarterback draws and sweeps.

"We knew what we had to do, but it's just the execution against that offense is so hard because they got everyone packed in and they are physical," Knowles said. "They just want to run and they just want to punch. It's a tough team."

Hillcrest ran the ball 49 times for 279 yards. They only attempted six passes in the game. Knowles said his boys will be sore this weekend from the physicality of Friday's contest.

In the first half, the Sandpoint offense got off to a hot start thanks in part to Braden Kappen who returned the opening kickoff to the Hillcrest 47 to give the Bulldogs great field position.

Sandpoint cashed in nine plays later when Pettit threw a ball to the corner of the end zone and Max Thielbahr went up and snatched it to give the team an early 7-0 lead.

Hillcrest responded with an 85-yard drive that lasted over five minutes to knot the game at 7-7.

The Bulldogs’ offense continued clicking on their second possession. Sandpoint got down to the Hillcrest 14, but the drive stalled there after the team failed to convert a fourth down and 3.

Four plays later, Hillcrest quarterback Demik Hatch took a draw 59 yards to the end zone to give the Knights a 14-7 advantage.

On the ensuing kickoff return, Peyton Ennis faked a reverse to Kappen and took the ball 84 yards to the house. The extra point was missed and Hillcrest took that 13-7 lead into halftime.

In the second half, the Knights' Keegan Porter scored a pair of 2-yard touchdowns. But each time Pettit and the Bulldog offense responded with scores of their own. The first came on a 40-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Kappen in the third quarter. The second came on a 25-yard touchdown pass to Thielbahr with 5:14 left in the game.

The Sandpoint offense showed plenty of resilience Friday night and the scary part is they haven't reached their full potential.

"These guys are still gaining confidence," Knowles said. "They're not all the way there yet, but they are getting close."

Pettit finished with 192 passing yards, 25 on the ground and three touchdowns. Kappen had nine carries for 44 yards and reeled in two passes for 42 yards. Thielbahr led the receivers with seven catches and 89 yards to go along with his two scores.

Next up for Sandpoint is a rematch with 4A Inland Empire League rival Moscow. The Bears beat Jerome 45-7 to reach the quarterfinals.

Sandpoint (4-4) took care of Moscow 31-21 at War Memorial Field on Oct. 16 and Knowles is ready for round two.

"We're going to get their best shot and they are going to get our best shot," he said. "It's going to be good old' fashioned fun at Memorial Field next Friday night."

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Game

SHS 7 6 7 10 — 30

HC 7 7 6 7 — 27

Q1 SHS Max Thielbahr 11 yd pass from Parker Pettit (Elek Christoferson kick)

Q1 HC Keegan Porter 3 yd run ( Aiden Zundel kick)

Q2 HC Keegan Porter 59 yd run (Aiden Zundel kick)

Q2 SHS Peyton Ennis 84 d KOR (kick fail)

Q3 HC Keegan Porter 2 yd run (kick fail)

Q3 SHS Braden Kappen 40 yd pass from Parker Pettit (Elek Christoferson kick)

Q4 HC Keegan Porter 2 yd run (Aiden Zundel kick)

Q4 SHS Max Thielbahr 25 yd pass from Parker Pettit (Elek Christoferson kick)

Q4 SHS Elek Christoferson 25 yd Field Goal

SHS Rushing: Parker Pettit 7-25, Braden Kappen 9-44, Garrett Cox 5-13, Elijah Larson 1-10

SHS Receiving: Garrett Cox 1-8, Elijah Larson 2-20, Cody Newhart 4-33, Braden Kappen 2-42, Max Thielbahr 7-89,

Punt Returns: Cox 2-7

KOR: Kappen 1-32, Peyton Ennis 3-40

HC Rushing: Demik Hatch 24-162, Keegan Porter 17-85, Garrett Phippen 4-15, Tyler Shultz 1-(-7), Kyler Stevens 3-22

HC Receiving: Austin Murdock 1-22, Noah Whitaker 1-12, Keegan Porter 2-19

HC KOR: Demik Hatch 1-4, Bridger Prince 1-33, Garrett Phippen 1-10, Keegan Porter 1-4