PREP FOOTBALL: Sandpoint blows out Lake City with huge second half performance
Eli Allshouse of Sandpoint races toward the end zone as Jacob Hill of Lake City tries to tackle him after Allshouse stripped the ball from the Lake City receiver, and ran it in for a touchdown in the third quarter Friday night at Lake City.
Mark Nelke/CDA Press
COEUR d’ALENE — After leading by only five points at halftime, the Bulldogs lit up the scoreboard in the second half, putting up 21 unanswered points to defeat Lake City 32-6 Friday night.
Right from the opening kickoff, things trended in Sandpoint’s favor. Lake City fumbled the football before even taking a snap, giving the Bulldogs great field possession to start the game. A couple of minutes later, Max Frank rushed eight yards into the endzone to put the Bulldogs on the board. After a two-point conversion, the Bulldogs went ahead 8-0.
Sandpoint’s defense stopped Lake City a couple of times and eventually put together another solid drive before the end of the first. Reid Bradburn kicked a 33-yard field goal, which was especially impressive given the muddy conditions, to put Sandpoint up 11-0 heading into the second quarter. However, Sandpoint ran into some trouble.
In the second quarter, Lake City’s Avery Cherry scored the quarter’s only touchdown on a 1-yard rush. The Bulldogs had trouble answering, giving up a fumble and having a punt that was blocked on its next two drives. Heading into halftime, the Bulldogs led just 11-6.
After a pep talk from head coach Ryan Knowles, the Bulldogs came out firing on all cylinders. On their opening second half drive, the Bulldogs marched down the field quickly. Quarterback Drew Lehman completed a pass to Frank on the far-side of the field, and after breaking four tackles, Frank scored on the 19-yard reception to give the Bulldogs an 18-6 lead.
On the Timberwolves’ ensuing drive, Sandpoint’s defense forced another fumble. Shane Sherrill got his helmet on the football and Khyrin Riddle was able to scoop it up to give the Bulldogs the ball. Sandpoint once again had a great field position at the Lake City 35-yard line. Although not able to capitalize on the fumble, with 3:30 left in the third Eli Allshouse forced another turnover, intercepting a pass from the hands of a Lake City wide receiver. Allshouse took it to the house for a touchdown, 25-6, Sandpoint in front.
“We’re playing zone coverage, and I actually fell at the beginning of the play,” Allshouse said. “I got up and I ran up to him, and it was kinda outstretched in his arms, and I thought that was my opportunity to take it. So I stripped it out of his hands, got lucky, he didn’t take me down, and just kept going.”
As if Sandpoint’s defense wasn’t already having a tremendous outing, Khyrin Riddle recovered another fumble on the Timberwolves’ next drive. Sandpoint made their way down the field and Ashlei Hawkins scored on an 18-yard pass from Lehman to give the Bulldogs a 32-6 lead which the team maintained for the remainder of the game. It was Hawkins’ first touchdown of the season.
“In the first half our defense was on point … our offense had some mistakes and we weren’t sustaining drives, but we really got things going in the second half,” head coach Ryan Knowles said. “We had lots of three-and-outs and some great drives in the second half. Lake City kept going at Eli Allshouse, but he kept his composure and was spot on in his coverage. Shane Sherrill did a great job causing the fumble on the opening kickoff and one other. I’m really proud of those two.”
Overall, the Bulldogs forced four turnovers for the second week in a row, staking their claim on having one of the top defenses in 4A. On offense, Kody Brewster had another 100-yard game, rushing for exactly 100 yards on 13 carries. Frank totaled 113 yards – 58 receiving and 55 rushing – to go along with two touchdowns on the night. Jesse Turner once again hauled in a team-high five receptions for 43 yards. At quarterback, Lehman went 13-for-23 for 156 yards and two touchdowns.
Sandpoint (3-3) will look to extend their winning streak Friday, Oct. 6 when Lakeland comes to town.
Sandpoint 11 0 14 7 – 32
Lake City 0 6 0 0 – 6
First quarter
SPT – Max Frank 8 run (2-point conversion good), 8:43
SPT – Reid Bradburn 33 FG, 0:08
Second quarter
LC – Avery Cherry 1 run (2-point conversion no good), 4:07
Third quarter
SPT – Frank 19 pass from Drew Lehman, 8:51
SPT – Eli Allshouse 28 interception return, 3:30
Fourth quarter
SPT – Ashlei Hawkins 18 pass from Lehman, 10:35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – SPT, Brewster 13-100, Frank 10-55, Lehman 8 (-24), Sherrill 5-10, Hawkins 9-28; LC, Johnson 9-29, Hawkins 4-35, Cherry 3-7, Profumo 3-6, Wullenwaber 1-12, Carmignani 2-3.
PASSING – SPT, Lehman 13-23-0-156; LC, LC, Cherry 7-21-0-107.
RECEIVING – SPT, Frank 4-58, Williams 2-14, Turner 5-43, Brewster 1-22, Hawkins 1-18; LC, Usdrowski 5-90, Hill 1-5, LaBelle 1-12.