4A STATE PLAYOFFS: Pocatello takes down Sandpoint in quarterfinals

POCATELLO — No. 6 Sandpoint gave up a handful of big plays for touchdowns, which happened to be the main difference maker in Friday night’s 44-23 loss to No. 3 Pocatello in the 4A state quarterfinals held at Lookout Stadium.

It wasn’t exactly an ideal first quarter for Sandpoint. On the Bulldogs’ second drive of the game, the Thunder sacked quarterback Drew Lehman two times in a row on second and third down. On fourth down, Pocatello blocked the Bulldogs’ punt attempt and recorded a safety for the first score of the game. On Sandpoint’s next drive, the Bulldogs fumbled the ball and it was recovered in the endzone by Pocatello’s Jaxon Romero for a touchdown. After one quarter, the Thunder found themselves ahead 9-0.

In the second quarter, Sandpoint responded in a big way. On their opening drive, Reid Bradburn kicked a 31-yard field goal to get the Bulldogs on the board. On the Thunder’s ensuing drive, Sandpoint’s defense made a statement. Gage McElroy and Blayne Kanning sacked Pocatello quarterback Dreyson Contreras for minus 10 yards on second down. On third down, Max Frank found Contreras in the backfield again for a 5-yard loss. The Thunder punted to Shane Sherrill on fourth and long, and he returned the ball 62 yards down the far sideline to set the Bulldogs up at the Thunder 4-yard line. Frank would make his way into the endzone for a 4-yard rushing touchdown on the very next play. Mid-way through the second quarter, the Bulldogs had the lead, 10-9.

Before halftime, Pocatello took back control of the game. Contreras found wide receiver Julian Bowie for an 80-yard receiving touchdown and then found Roberto Reed in the endzone for the two-point conversion. Near the end of the half, Pocatello drove down the field again and Contreras found Ty Wilkinson for a 9-yard receiving touchdown. At halftime, the Thunder suddenly found themselves ahead with a two-score lead, 24-10.

The scoring slowed down in the third quarter. Neither offense had too much success, but Pocatello’s Garrett Keller did knock a 39-yard field goal through the uprights mid-way through the third. Early in the fourth, Keller made yet another field goal, this time a 43-yarder to put the Thunder in front by 20 points, 30-10. Sandpoint could have thrown in the towel, but they didn’t, and continued to fight hard.

With about 10 minutes remaining, Sandpoint marched down the field quickly with some big plays of their own. Sandpoint wide receiver Dallen Williams had two crucial catches on the opening fourth quarter drive, a 38-yard reception and a 14-yard reception that set Sandpoint up at the 1-yard line. Kody Brewster, who the Thunder limited to just 23 rushing yards on the night, ended up carrying the ball 1-yard into the endzone for a touchdown. Sandpoint trailed by just two touchdowns yet again, 30-17.

The rest of the fourth quarter was back-and-forth. Contreras found Wilkinson again for a 40-yard receiving touchdown. Sandpoint matched the Thunder with a solid drive of their own, capped off by a 1-yard rushing touchdown from Frank. With under five minutes to go, the Bulldogs trailed Pocatello, 37-23. However, Pocatello’s Ryken Echohawk, who Sandpoint was able to limit for a majority of the game, took it 50 yards into the endzone off a halfback toss to put the game out of reach. The Bulldogs drove down the field after giving up the touchdown, but only made it to the Pocatello 23-yard line before time expired, 44-23 Pocatello.

Pocatello will face the winner of No. 2 Bishop Kelly/No. 10 Emmett next Friday in the state semi-finals at a time and place yet to be determined.

“We can’t have a first quarter like we did tonight and expect to win,” head coach Ryan Knowles said. “We were behind the sticks, had some bobbled snaps, and we had a hard time running the ball. We came out flat, and it’s difficult to overcome that against a team like Pocatello. We ended up coming back, but didn’t maintain the momentum and let it get away from us. Sometimes it takes time to feel things out, and we never really got a feel for Pocatello’s offense, so credit to them.”

Three out of the four Pocatello touchdowns came off big plays (a play that goes for 25 yards or more). Sandpoint’s defense, who averaged 2.1 turnovers a game this season, was not able to come up with a takeaway on Friday night. Pocatello also limited Sandpoint to just 63 yards rushing; the Bulldogs averaged well over 200 per game this season.

Overall, on offense, Sandpoint did show off their passing game, especially in the fourth quarter. Drew Lehman went 17-for-26 for 228 yards passing. Brewster hauled in three receptions for 72 yards; Frank six for 53 yards, and Williams three for 60 yards. Frank was also the Bulldogs’ leading rusher on the night with four carries for 32 yards and two touchdowns.

Sandpoint finished the season with a 7-4 record. Before Friday's loss, Sandpoint had six straight wins over teams such as Lewiston, Lake City, Moscow, and Lakeland. The Bulldogs’ only other losses came to 5A Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene, who both made the state playoffs this year, and to undefeated 3A Homedale, who is expected to advance to the 3A state championship match. All-in-all it was another successful season for Sandpoint football.

“It was a fun ride and we had tremendous support this year,” Knowles said. “It’s always frustrating to be done. It’s hard for our seniors – it’s always hard – to have to look them in the eye in the locker room and give them a hug after the game knowing it may be their last. I told them they can’t let one loss define them. There are lots of great men on this team who are going to go on and do great things. As for the others, we’re going to take some time off, regroup, and start the build back for next year, and the bar has been set high.”

Sandpoint 0 10 0 13 – 23

Pocatello 9 15 3 17 – 44

First quarter

POC – Safety (blocked punt in endzone)

POC – Jaxon Romero (fumble recovery in endzone)

Second quarter

SPT – Reid Bradburn 31 field goal

SPT – Frank 4 run (Bradburn kick)

POC – Julian Bowie 80 pass from Dreyson Contreras (Roberto Reed from Contreras, two-point conversion good)

POC – Ty Wilkinson 9 pass from Contreras (Keller kick)

Third quarter

POC – Keller 39 field goal

Fourth quarter

POC – Keller 43 field goal

SPT – Kody Brewster 1 run (Bradburn kick)

POC – Wilkinson 40 pass from Contreras (Keller kick)

SPT – Frank 1 run (Bradburn kick)

POC – Ryken Echohawk 50 run (Keller kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – SPT, Brewster 11-23, Frank 4-32, Lehman 7-5, Hawkins 1-3; POC, Echohawk 18-117, Christensen 6-22, Contreras 6-49.

PASSING – SPT, Lehman 17-26-0-228, Frank 0-1-0-0; POC, Contreras 11-19-0-207.

RECEIVING – SPT, Frank 6-53, Turner 3-25, Hindberg 2-18, Williams 3-60, Brewster 3-72; POC, Echohawk 2-25, Bowie 1-80, Christensen 1-14, Wilkinson 3-49, May 2-22, Smith 1-4, Winn 2-13.

    Sandpoint's Gage McElroy (left) and Jorden Tyler break up a pass intended for Pocatello wide receiver Hunter May.

    Sandpoint head coach Ryan Knowles hugs senior Kody Brewster after Friday night's 44-23 loss to Pocatello.
  

 Sandpoint senior Levi Dorrel and junior Gavin Walters support each other with a hug after Friday night's loss to Pocatello.