Sandpoint clashes with Blackfoot for spot in state title game

SANDPOINT — For an entire year, the Sandpoint football team has suffered through the pain of falling a game short of a state championship appearance.

When the Bulldogs were handed the third-place trophy after falling to Skyline 20-0 in the state semifinals, they weren’t reflecting on what they had accomplished, they were thinking about what could have been.

That anguish has driven this team ever since and tonight they have an opportunity to erase it all when they battle fifth-seeded Blackfoot, the District 6 champs, in the 4A state semifinals at War Memorial Field, and the Bulldogs (7-2) are determined not to suffer a similar fate. In their eyes, they have two more games before the job is done.

“We’ve climbed this mountain a long way and have no intent to not keep climbing,” head coach Ryan Knowles said.

Knowles’ first three seasons at the helm have all ended with a road state playoff loss to a District 6 team, and he’s glad the Bulldogs will get a chance to end that streak on their home turf.

“I’m really proud of our boys for what we’ve done so far this year and to be able to have this at our place says a lot,” he said. “I’m super excited that we can put on this game for the city of Sandpoint.”

Sandpoint is winless in three games against Blackfoot all-time and the Bulldogs would certainly like to change that Friday, but it won’t be easy.

“It’s going to be a dogfight,” Knowles said. “They are a tough, proud team, and a tough, proud program.”

Blackfoot has four state titles to its name, winning in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2012. That 2009 title came against the Bulldogs 29-20.

The Broncos don’t have the same head coach as they did in their glory days, but they are very much the same team, Knowles said. Knowles and the Bulldogs witnessed firsthand what Blackfoot is all about two years ago when the Broncos handed Sandpoint a 40-6 defeat in the first round of the state playoffs. Blackfoot fell in the state championship game that year.

In that matchup, Knowles said Blackfoot showed him why they have the ability to contend for state titles year in and year out.

“They were dang good that year,” he said, “and we weren’t really hittin’ on all cylinders and we got a taste of Blackfoot football.”

The Bulldogs will be hoping to serve the Broncos a little bit of revenge and get back to the state championship for the first time since 2015 and the fifth time in the last quarter century.

Blackfoot is 6-5 this season, but looks can be deceiving. Four of the Broncos’ losses have come by one point, and their fifth defeat came by 11 points to 5A power Rigby, who is ranked No. 1 in the state.

Knowles said Blackfoot has talent all over the field.

“They got all the positions checked,” he said.

And the Broncos are rolling right now. After suffering a 29-28 overtime loss to Shelley on Oct. 15, Blackfoot has won three straight and outscored their opponents 111-44. They are fresh off a state quarterfinal victory over Nampa that saw them jump out to a 28-0 lead, holding their counterpart scoreless for over three quarters.

Getting off to a fast start is always important for the Bulldogs, but there might be a heightened importance for one tonight given the confidence the Broncos are playing with right now. Sandpoint fell behind 14-0 in its state quarterfinal victory over Shelley, they can’t afford for that to happen again in the semis.

But the Bulldogs enter this semifinal bout with just as much momentum as winners of six straight. Something’s gotta give and Sandpoint worked all offseason to ensure they won’t be the first team to break, Knowles said. It will all come down to who makes the least mistakes and who wins the special teams battle, which is a phase of the game SHS has dominated all season.

“I think we have a good grasp of their schemes, they have a good grasp of our schemes,” he said. “They got playmakers, they’re going to make plays, we got playmakers, we’re going to make plays, but as long as our guys are making them beat us and doing what they’re trained … the give and take will be fun to watch.”

The Sandpoint defense will be keying in on Blackfoot quarterback Jaxon Grimmett, receivers Ja’Vonte King and Deegan Hale, and tailback Austin Ramirez, who had 183 yards rushing last week.

The Bulldogs haven’t allowed an opponent to score more than 14 points against them in five straight contests and have forced seven turnovers so far in the state playoffs.

On the other side of the ball, Knowles said the Bulldogs will encounter a Blackfoot defense that is extremely aggressive and loves to play tight coverage.

Sandpoint has poured countless hours of preparation into this game, but they do every week. The stakes of this contest are higher, but Knowles said the Bulldogs aren’t changing their ways.

“That’s one thing you don’t do at this time of year is change your routine,” he said. “It would be almost taboo to change it now, so we got an awesome staff that works really together.”

Players like Parker Pettit, Gerrit Cox, Wes Benefield, Luke McCorkle, Jack Zimmerman and Max Frank have stolen the spotlight for Sandpoint all season, but one star player that’s flown under the radar is senior Lasse Kuhn.

Kuhn is best known for the bombs he’s been hitting on kickoffs this season that have resulted in countless touchbacks, but he’s also got some significant playing time at wide receiver as the year has gone on. He even took over extra-point kicking duties last week and scored his first career point as a Bulldog.

Knowles said Kuhn’s ability to boot the ball through the back of the end zone is a huge asset for the Bulldogs because covering kick returns is by no means easy.

“It’s incredible and it’s also just a statement,” Knowles said. “It’s usually teams’ best playmakers back there catching the ball, so it’s another touch you take away from their stars.”

Kuhn is a foreign exchange student from Norderney, Germany, an East Frisian Island off the North Sea coast of Germany. Kuhn said he takes pride in his ability to rack up touchbacks, and a lot of that kicking power can be attributed to the 13 years he’s spent playing soccer back home.

Kuhn said he started watching and playing football with friends in Germany for a few years, but he had never played on an organized football team until he arrived in Sandpoint this August.

“That was my biggest dream was to play football in America,” he said. “That was like the one thing I wanted to do here.”

Well he can check that one off the bucket list. Kuhn said when he first joined the team he didn’t know what to expect, but he quickly worked his way onto varsity and into a variety of roles, especially after Sandpoint saw the leg he had on him.

“I came to practice and they heard about me playing soccer for so long,” he said, “and they said, ‘Just try to kick,’ and then I kicked the ball pretty far.”

Kuhn said he was supposed to do his foreign exchange as a junior last year, but the COVID-19 pandemic prevented him from doing so. He could have stayed in Germany for his senior year, but he wasn’t going to miss a once in a lifetime opportunity to study in the U.S.

Kuhn said Chris and Nicole Kizanis are his host parents and he loves everything about Sandpoint. From nature to the lake to the hikes, this place has it all, he said.

“It’s small, but perfect,” he said.

Despite being new, Kuhn said the team embraced him from day one and the group has taught him a lot about sportsmanship and giving your all for your teammates.

“They’ve been like a family to me,” he said.

When Kuhn returns to Germany, he plans on playing soccer, but wants to find a club football team close to home. Getting an opportunity to play for a state title in his only season at SHS is something Kuhn never imagined happening, but the Bulldogs are one win away from making that happen.

“I never thought to go that far, but I think we definitely can do it,” he said.

With a victory tonight, Sandpoint would secure a trip to the Kibbie Dome next week to face the winner of the other semifinal between Pocatello and Skyline. Knowles is anticipating an electric atmosphere at War Memorial Field.

“We can’t host a bigger football game,” he said. “I expect this place to be cranked up … and I know if I was a fan of football, I’d want to be here.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. You can listen to the game on AM 1400 KSPT, ROCK 103 (FM 102.9) or rock103fm.com. You can also find a link to a livestream of the game on spbulldogs.com. Just click the watch button near the top of the website.

Tickets will not be sold at the gate. Tickets are only available through the GoFan app or online at gofan.co/app/school/IDHSAA.