Sandpoint edged by Alta in season opener at Rocky Mountain Rumble

REXBURG — First-game miscues.

Special teams mistakes.

Penalties.

All of the above — and then some — added up to the Sandpoint Bulldogs dropping their season opener on Saturday, 16-15 to the Alta Hawks of Sandy, Utah, as part of the eight-game Rocky Mountain Rumble at Madison High.

“I thought they played hard; I thought they played well,” Sandpoint coach Ryan Knowles said. “The first-game mistakes were just right front and center, too many penalties on offense got us behind the sticks. Our special teams were atrocious.”

Alta (2-1) outgained Sandpoint 266-241 in a game where yards were not easy to come by.

Sandpoint, last year’s state 4A runner-up, struck first, after an Alta punt into the wind that netted a minus 8 yards and rolled dead at the Hawks’ 15. The Bulldogs scored five plays later, with Joseph Hughes running it in from 3 yards out. Jack Zimmerman ran in the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead.

Alta got on the board after a Sandpoint punt into the wind traveled just 7 yards, rolling dead at the Bulldog 16. Branko Hansell-Fotu connected with Noah Flores from 13 yards out to make it 8-7.

Sandpoint answered with a 75-yard drive, getting chunk running plays out of the wing-T by Max Frank (46 yards) and Kody Brewster (16 yards). Parker Pettit ran the final 3 yards on a keeper for a 15-7 lead.

But a personal foul on Sandpoint after the play helped give Alta a short field after the kickoff. And the Hawks needed just two plays to cover 55 yards, Hansell-Fotu hitting Flores deep for a 30-yard score just before the half to make it 15-13 at halftime.

Sandpoint was penalized 12 times for 132 yards.

Early in the third quarter, Alta drove from its 11 to the Sandpoint 9 in 13 plays — a drive kept alive by two personal fouls on Sandpoint. Lincoln Eberhardt booted a 26-yard field goal into the win to give Alta a 16-15 lead with 5:50 left in the quarter.

Brewster, a junior, finished with 101 yards on 13 carries.

“When Kody Brewster had the ball, things were looking good; he was falling forward, making plays,” Knowles said. “I think they were dialed in on our quarterback pretty good on the run. We were just behind the sticks so much with penalties.”

Max Frank had four catches for 21 yards, and ran for 59 yards on six carries, mostly from the wing-T.

“We ran it last year, too; it’s a big package for us,” Knowles said of the wing-T. “It’s pretty effective — we can spread ‘em out and pack ‘em in at the same time. On a windy day, or a snowy day, or a cold day, running the ball is certainly a nice option.”

Sandpoint also muffed a punt, and had a punt blocked, though the Bulldog defense prevented Alta from scoring after either of those miscues.

Hansell-Fotu completed just 11 passes in 24 attempts, but four of them went for more than 20 yards. Flores finished with five catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns.

“Their quarterback is pretty dynamic,” Knowles said. “We had to play some zones, and keep him in front of us … we minimized his yards on the ground. You could tell they made some halftime adjustments to throw the ball a little bit more against zone, so we went to some more man.”

Alta missed four field goals, including one blocked by Sandpoint’s Weston Benefield that gave the Bulldogs the ball at their 48 with 8:38 left. Sandpoint drove to the Alta 39, but a chop block and a sack pushed the Bulldogs back, and they punted on fourth and 31 from their own 40.

Sandpoint never got the ball back, as the Hawks chewed up the last five minutes, mostly on the ground. Their backup quarterback, freshman Kepa Niumeitolu, replacing the injured Hansell-Fotu, ran for one first down and hit Flores for another to help Alta run out the clock.

Sandpoint plays at Coeur d’Alene on Friday.

Alta 0 13 3 0 — 16

Sandpoint 8 7 0 0 — 15

First quarter

Spt — Joseph Hughes 3 run (Jack Zimmerman run)

Second quarter

Alta — Noah Flores 13 pass from Branko Hansell-Fotu (Lincoln Eberhardt kick)

Spt — Jackson Pettit 3 run (Jacob Gove kick)

Alta — Flores 30 pass from Hansell-Fotu (kick failed)

Third quarter

Alta — FG 26 Eberhardt

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Alta, Cottis 19-73, Hansell-Fotu 7-26, Jaramillo 1-2, Niumeitolu 4-11. Spt, Brewster 13-101, Pettit 10-13, Hughes 3-3, Frank 6-59.

PASSING — Alta, Hansell-Fotu 11-24-0-143, Niumeitolu 1-5-0-11. Spt, Pettit 9-16-0-65.

RECEIVING — Alta, Cottis 1-8, Tafisi 3-8, Flores 5-114, Turner 2-30, Toala 1-(minus 4). Spt, Brewster 2-11, VanDenBerg 2-23, Frank 4-21, Garcia 1-10.