4A PLAYOFF PREVIEW: Sandpoint set to face Bonneville in first round

SANDPOINT — It’s not often that Sandpoint faces an unfamiliar face in the regular or postseason, but in the first round of the 4A state championship playoffs today, the No. 6 ranked Bulldogs will face No. 11 Bonneville for the first time in school history.

It was projected that Sandpoint was going to be an eight seed last week. Head coach Ryan Knowles said he was a little surprised when the bracket was released. 

“Last week we were an eight seed, and I did not expect to move up two spots quite honestly,” Knowles said. “It was a nice surprise, but at the same time we have had worse records and have been higher the last couple of years. So, it’s somewhere in the middle. This crew, staff, this whole team, we don’t care too much. We’re number six, let’s go play.”

Knowles noted that Bonneville, who plays in arguably the best District in Idaho, District 6, has faced some tough teams this year. Bonneville may be more of a threat than their record 4-5 record indicates.

“I just talked to the team and said to them how District 6 is touted as some of the best football in the state; they have the last three state champions,” Knowles said. “It’s playoff time and it's time to change gears. The weather broke, so it’s a little cooler outside – it feels like late season football and I know the team is excited.”

Knowles said in order to make a deep playoff run this year, it’s going to come down to Sandpoint’s play in the fourth quarter.

“We talk a lot about playing our best football in the fourth quarter, especially in October/November,” Knowles said. “In this program, one of our goals is to finish better than we started. For the record, we haven’t lost a game in the month of October in four years. So, this is a big game for us and a big hurdle for this program.”

One player who is looking to lead his team deep into the playoffs is quarterback Drew Lehman, a wide receiver who got the starting job after senior Hunter Garcia went down with an injury, and now has now run the offense to five straight victories.

“It’s definitely been hard to get back into it after roughly a year or so,” Lehman said when referring to transitioning from wide receiver back into a quarterback. “With the help of my guys, who have been so much help to me, it’s been all good, and they lift me up when needed. Even when I’m not on top of things like I should be, I’m working towards it. Now that it's playoffs, I feel like I’m all there, ready to go.”

Lehman, so far this season, has completed 71.5% of his passes for 1,182 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also boasts an 11-5 touchdown to interception ratio, all good enough for a 114 QBR.

One of Lehman’s go-to targets, senior Max Frank, is going to give Bonneville all they can handle. Frank has 16 touchdowns this season – 10 rushing, six receiving – to go along with 1,056 yards of total offense.

When asked about if he feels any pressure being such a high performer, Frank said pressure is not something he really thinks about.

“I don’t really think of it in terms of pressure,” Frank said. “It’s not an option to let the team down for me, so I block it out … I want to succeed for this team and everything I do is for my buddies, brothers that I get to play with. We do it for each other. Winning state is the ultimate goal, and to do that, we have to make sure we are playing for each other.”

Of course, the offense wouldn’t be successful without the Sandpoint offensive line, who doesn’t always get the recognition they rightfully deserve. Senior Cameron Barrett, one of Sandpoint’s offensive lineman, said it’s tougher than it seems to be able to work as one cohesive unit.

“Our coach (George) Yarno is very run the ball directed, and he played at a very high level, so he holds us to that same standard,” Barrett said. “We have a lot of pride within our group and often have a close-knit group every year. I view it as a great opportunity to be able to play on the offensive line for this team.”

Sandpoint’s offensive line has helped the Bulldogs accumulate 1,840 rushing yards this season, and will look to carry that trend into the postseason.

Lastly, a playoff team would not be complete without a solid defense, which Sandpoint certainly has. The Bulldogs have been able to average just about two takeaways a game this season. Senior Khyrin Riddle, who leads the team with three sacks, two fumble recoveries and 14 tackles for losses, is one of many on Sandpoint’s defense who have made a significant impact this season.

“Last year seeing all the seniors after the loss was tough,” Riddle said. “In a way, we’re kind of playing for them too … I’m feeling nervous going into tomorrow, but I think I'm going to be able to do my job and we’ll get things done. Our defense is strong with a big group of seniors.”

Along with the rest of the team and the coaching staff, the Bulldogs (6-3) will look to put all the pieces together and start off with a win in the first round of the 4A state championship playoffs Friday against Bonneville. Friday night’s game will be held at War Memorial Field at 7 p.m.