5A STATE FOOTBALL: Sandpoint shut out by Hillcrest

Hillcrest 35, Sandpoint 0

AMMON — The visiting No. 15 Bulldogs were only able to muster up 92 yards of total offense as the No. 2 Knights scored on five of their first six possessions to capture a 35-0 shutout win in the opening round of the 5A state playoffs Friday at Hillcrest High.

The Bulldogs were held to negative 5 yards of offense on their first three possessions. Meanwhile, Hillcrest scored twice in the first quarter off a 10-yard run by junior quarterback Tyson Sweetwood and a 1-yard run by fellow junior Dax Sargent.

The Knights then scored off a 14-yard pass from Sweetwood to senior Markus Webster to go ahead 21-0 early in the second, and off a junior Ryan Meacham 1-yard run late in the quarter to take a four-score lead. Heading into halftime, the Bulldogs gathered just 38 yards of offense.

Hillcrest's opening possession of the third was business as usual as Sweetwood hit senior Mason Saunders for a 34-yard passing touchdown to extend the lead to 35 points. On the Knight's second possession of the quarter, Sandpoint made a stop on a fourth down try that went awry, but could not capitalize the best field position they had of the game — a first down and 10 on the Knights' 39-yard line.

The two teams traded the ball back-and-forth for the rest of the second half, and with under three minutes remaining, senior Jorden Tyler, who had a handful of tackles for losses and pass breakups, returned a punt 57 yards to set up Sandpoint at Hillcrest's 32-yard line ... but it was called back due to a holding penalty.

Hillcrest's Webster had the game's only true turnover in the fourth quarter, an interception on Sandpoint's final full possession.

Senior Ashlei Hawkins paced Sandpoint's ground game, rushing for 33 yards on eight carries. Junior Dallen Williams had 22 yards on three carries for the Bulldogs, which had a season-low 52 rushing yards in the contest. Senior Jesse Turner had a team-high 14 receiving yards on two receptions. Senior Drew Lehman was 4-for-12 passing and accounted for 31 of Sandpoint's 40 passing yards.

Hillcrest, which had 354 yards of total offense — 197 passing and 157 rushing — was led by Sweetwood, who posted 222 total yards and was responsible for three total touchdowns.

It was the teams' first matchup against each other since Sandpoint beat Hillcrest 30-27 in the opening round of the 2020 4A state playoffs. Before that, Hillcrest had shutout Sandpoint 45-0 in the opening round of the 2018 4A state playoffs, the year the then-ranked No. 1 Knights won their last state title.

Sandpoint, which lost six straight games to end the season, finished with an official record of 3-7. The Bulldogs will graduate the following 24 seniors as they'll look to rebound in 2025: Lucas Johansen, Drew Lehman, Van Lee, Brady Newhart, Dallen Adam, Jesse Turner, William Mooney, Sam Lindner, Wylie Wimmer, Jorden Tyler, Alexander Guercio-Hooper, Ashlei Hawkins, Wyatt Burnett, Rece Wolff, Gage McElroy, Reid Bradburn, Alex Garrison, Cooper Williams, Gabe Macias, Gavin Walters, Kayden Garcia, Triston Tomco, Cruz Kurtz, and Dalton Williams.

Sandpoint 0 0 0 0 — 0

Hillcrest 14 14 7 0 — 35

1st quarter

HC — Sweetwood 10 run (Borgmann kick), 7:43

HC — Sargent 1 run (Borgmann kick), 1:41

2nd quarter

HC — Webster 14 pass from Sweetwood (Borgmann kick), 10:00

HC — Mecham 1 run (Borgmann kick), 1:56

3rd quarter

HC — Saunders 34 pass from Sweetwood (Borgmann kick), 9:50

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: SPT — Hawkins 8-33, Williams 3-22, Palmer 2-9, Lehman 7-(-6), Buckhout 4(-7). HC — Sargent 5-51, Sweetwood 8-36, Larsen 9-30, #37 7-18, Dorning 1-15, #35 2-4, Collins 1-2, Mecham 1-1.

PASSING: SPT — Lehman 4-12-0-31, Buckhout 2-3-0-9. HC — Sweetwood 13-22-2-186, #34 2-5-0-11, Borgmann 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING: SPT — Turner 2-14, Lehman 2-9, Newhart 1-9, Williams 1-8. HC — M. Davis 2-43, Judy 5-36, Saunders 1-34, C. Davis 3-33, Sargent 1-26, Webster 1-14, Prince 1-7, #33 1-4.

    Sandpoint High senior Jorden Tyler works his way upfield during one of his many kick returns on Friday.