THE FRONT ROW with Jason Elliott Aug. 31, 2013
Playing to half-empty stadiums, some teams will do anything to fill some seats.
It has been said that former professional athletes should never coach or manage their previous teams.
Whether it is because they don’t want to destroy their legacy or because it’s just not an all-around good idea, some teams don’t do it.
WHILE THE likes of Ken Griffey, Jr., won’t be returning to coach the Seattle Mariners anytime soon — though that might be cool — Northwest fans will have to live through a Hall of Famer from Spokane for now.
After a bad start to the second half of the season, the Philadelphia Phillies fired manager Charlie Manuel, who won a World Series with the team, and made former North Central High in Spokane graduate Ryne Sandberg the interim manager.
Sandberg, who was drafted by the Phillies, starred as a second baseman for the Chicago Cubs from 1982 to 1994, retired, then came back in 1996 before retiring for a second time in 1997. Sandberg only played 16 games for Philadelphia, but finds himself back where it all started.
A few years ago, when the Cubs were looking for a manager, they took a pass on “Ryno” and hired another former player, Dale Sveum, who has struggled since taking over in 2011.
On Friday, in his first game at Wrigley Field as a manager, Sandberg beat his former team.
Whether Sandberg keeps the job or not, he should get another shot at a major league job.
IN THE past few weeks leading into today’s game against North Texas, the mystery thus far has been the identity of the starting quarterback for the Idaho Vandals.
But for those Vandal fans that happen to also be Coeur d’Alene High football fans, the mystery man might look familiar.
Paulson ran for 128 of the Eagles’ 360 rushing yards on just seven carries. He was also an efficient 10 of 16 passing for 120 yards and a touchdown.
“It was preparation, watching film on what they were going to do,” Paulson said. “(It was) having an idea in my head of what I’m going to do.”
Pfennigs and Post Falls’ offense came up short on the next drive. With a defender pressuring him, Pfennigs’ was intercepted by Capital linebacker Jovie Kahoiwai at the Eagles’ 9-yard line.
Again, the Eagles made the Trojans pay for their mistakes. Jacob Foley scored the first of his two rushing touchdowns with 11:51 left in the second quarter, as Capital took a 14-0 lead going into halftime.
“Our skill guys have a lot of speed and athleticism,” Eagles coach Todd Simis said. “Post Falls controlled the clock early on.”
Pfennigs finished 11 for 21 passing with 105 yards, and 52 rushing yards on nine carries.
Seth McLeod, who was injured midway during the third quarter, tacked on another 38 yards on six carries. Trent Liebergot caught four passes for 33 yards.
“We’ve got to build on those highs,” Hinz said.
Capital scored three touchdowns in the second half. In the third quarter, Ian Kinkead caught a 23-yard pass from Paulson, then Isaiah Jackson ran one in from 11 yards out. Foley completed the scoring in the fourth quarter, on a 4-yard TD run.
Post Falls’ next game is Thursday in a nonleague game at home against Graham-Kapowsin of Graham, Wash.
Capital 6 8 14 7— 35
Post Falls 0 0 0 0 — 0
Cap — Conner Paulson 20 run (kick failed), 5:53.
Cap — Jacob Foley 16 run (Reece Ruzicka pass from Paulson), 11:51.
Cap — Ian Kinkead 23 pass from Paulson (Colby Larsen kick), 10:37.
Cap — Isaiah Jackson 11 run (Larsen kick), 4:15.
Cap — Foley 4 run (Larsen kick), 5:10.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — PF, Pfennigs 9-52, Conradi 6-40, Agueros 8-16, McLeod 6-38, Thompson 2-15, Triplett 2-8, Roman 1-2, Davenport 1-(minus 5). Cap, Paulson 8-128, Fontenot 7-27, Idoeta 6-45, King 4-58, Littlejohn 3-22, Larsen 2-47, Jackson 2-23, Kingmixay 2-10.
PASSING — PF, Pfennigs 11-21-1-105, Thompson 2-8-0-13. Cap, Paulson 10-16-0-120.
RECEIVING — PF, Liebergot 4-33, Triplett 3-40, Morris 3-24, McKeown 2-14, McLeod 2-14, Davenport 2-23, Conradi 1-9. Cap, Littlejohn 5-74, Kinkead 3-46, Kingmixay 1-9, King 1-0, Foley 1-0.