Coeur d'Alene holds off Sandpoint in thriller
SANDPOINT — Sandpoint and Coeur d'Alene, two longtime rivals who had not faced each other much on the football field in recent years, treated fans to a classic Friday night.
After trailing 21-2 at the half, Sandpoint fought back and scored three touchdowns to take a 22-21 lead early in the fourth quarter.
But a late 20-yard field goal from Coeur d'Alene’s Brayden Bengtson and a sack by Wyatt Potter on Sandpoint's Parker Pettit on fourth down with under a minute left allowed the Vikings to survive for a thrilling 24-22 nonleague victory at Barlow Stadium.
"That was a helluva high school football game," Coeur d'Alene coach Shawn Amos said. “We just found a way to win. It wasn't pretty. To have your kids find a way to win is big in a game like this; it goes a long way.”
Coeur d’Alene (1-1) survived the loss of two-way starter Gunner Giulio to injury in the first half to build a 21-0 lead just before halftime, then did just enough to hold off Sandpoint (1-1) in the second half.
"In a two-point game you're going to go back and you're going to kick yourself about every one that you missed," Sandpoint coach Ryan Knowles said. "If you win by two points, you just chalk it all up to we're good and you move on, so that's what is crazy about a two-point loss is you're going to look at every play, and it's going to stink."
Last season, Sandpoint and Coeur d'Alene renewed their rivalry for the first time since 2011. The Vikings handed the visiting Bulldogs a 55-0 defeat in that matchup.
Amos was impressed with the fight SHS gave his team.
"Sandpoint is definitely back," he said. "That's a tough program and I'm excited to have that kind of back where it should be — us and them as a rivalry."
Coeur d'Alene has now won five straight meetings between the two schools.
Bengtson threw two touchdown passes, one to Giulio, and one to Rob Collier, who replaced Giulio at running back. Tanner Langley made it 21-0 on a 62-yard fumble return midway through the second quarter.
Sandpoint scored a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter — a 21-yard pass from Pettit to Connor Hindberg and an 11-yard run by Gerrit Cox — to cut the deficit to 21-16.
Following a punt by Coeur d'Alene, Sandpoint got the ball back and marched down the field quickly thanks to a 36-yard run by Cox. On the second play of the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs pulled out a trick play. Pettit tossed the ball back to Cox on a reverse and the senior running back threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Hindberg. SHS went for the two-point conversion but failed, but still led 22-21.
On the ensuing possession, Coeur d'Alene chewed up the clock and kicked the game-winning field goal with 5:19 left.
Sandpoint was able to get to the Coeur d’Alene 40 with just over a minute left, but back-to-back negative plays sealed the win for the Vikings.
In the first half, Sandpoint earned a safety when Coeur d'Alene snapped the ball out of the back of their own end zone.
“It came down to a couple clutch plays,” Amos said. “That was a pretty clutch kick. Just to keep battling and keep believing, that will help us a great deal. We’ll learn a lot from this too.
“Losing Giulio early was an eye-opener. Just proves the other kids have got to be ready; you just never know when it’s their chance.”
Coeur d’Alene plays host to West Valley of Yakima on Friday in the Vikings’ home opener.
Coeur d’Alene 7 14 0 3 — 24
Sandpoint 0 2 14 6 — 22
First quarter
Cd’A — Gunner Giulio 24 pass from Brayden Bengtson (Ethan Johnson kick), 8:36.
Second quarter
Cd’A — Rob Collier 8 pass from Bengtson (Johnson kick), 9:45
CDA — Tanner Langley 62 fumble return (Johnson kick), 5:50.
SHS — Safety, 1:28.
Third quarter
SHS — Connor Hindberg 21 pass from Parker Pettit (Jacob Gove kick), 8:38.
SHS — Gerrit Cox 11 run (Gove kick), 2:29.
Fourth quarter
SHS — Hindberg 33 pass from Cox (run failed), 11:18.
CDA — FG Bengtson 20, 5:19.
