Hawks' defense shines ... Lakeland beats Sandpoint for first time since 2016

RATHDRUM — Lakeland High coach Mike Schroeder thought his team could move the ball behind the strength of his offensive line.

But defensively, that's where the Hawks made their mark on Friday.

Lakeland limited the Bulldogs to 198 yards in a 41-7 5A Inland Empire League showdown at Corbit Field.

It was Lakeland's first victory over Sandpoint since 2016, snapping a seven-game losing streak to the Bulldogs.

Lakeland (6-2, 1-0 5A IEL) stopped Sandpoint (3-6, 0-2) on 4th and 1 during their first and third possessions of the game to take a 13-0 lead.

"We were able to get off the field quickly and take advantage of some things and put some points on the board," Schroeder said. "

Lakeland struck first on a 37-yard touchdown run by quarterback Haydon Benson less than three minutes into the game. Senior Lovie Weil scored on a 1-yard run to make it 13-0 late in the first quarter.

"We thought up front, we had an advantage going in," Schroeder said. "We knew they have a lot of tradition and culture over there, but we were also confident in our guys in that they'd go out and take care of business."

Lakeland travels to Lewiston (5-3, 1-0 5A IEL) next Friday for the league title and an automatic berth to the state playoffs. The loser figures to get an at-large berth, based on MaxPreps rankings.

Lewiston, which dropped one classification this year, beat Sandpoint 37-27 in the 5A IEL opener for both last Friday. Lakeland had a bye last week.

"Our boys were a little more refreshed and focused tonight," Schroeder said. "Our boys were ready to play."

Weil finished with 203 yards and four touchdowns for Lakeland.

Sandpoint scored on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Braden Buckhout to Dallen Williams with 6:19 remaining.

Lakeland held Sandpoint to just 96 rushing yards, recovered a fumble and recovered an unintentional onside kick — both which happened during the third quarter. 

Sandpoint is off next week.

Sandpoint    0    0    0    7    —    7 

Lakeland    13    7   21    0    —    41 

First quarter

LL — Haydon Benson 37 run (two-point no good), 9:51

LL — Lovie Weil 17 run (Pemberton kick), 4:03

Second quarter

LL — Weil 2 run (Pemberton kick), 5:49

Third quarter

LL — Weil 46 run (Pemberton kick), 6:49

LL — Jace Taylor 16 pass from Benson (Pemberton kick), 4:56

LL — Weil 5 run (Pemberton kick), 0:26

Fourth quarter

SPT — Williams 15 pass from Buckhout (Bradburn kick), 6:19

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — SPT — Lehman 7-29, Palmer 5-28, Hawkins 8-18, Buckhout 3-9, Gomez 1-7, Williams 1-5. LL — Weil 22-203, Benson 6-73, Sardinha 5-21, Lund 2-10, Taylor 2-(-1).

PASSING —  SPT — Buckhout 6-9-1-66, Lehman 6-9-0-36. LL — Benson 11-12-1-77.

RECEIVING —  SPT — Turner 4-51, Williams 3-31, Gomez 3-14, Newhart 1-4, Hawkins 1-2. LL — Taylor 4-43, Hobbs 2-18, Lund 2-13, Vanek 1-6, Hillman 2-(-3).

JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Lakeland senior running back Lovie Weil dives for the end zone during the second half of Friday's 5A Inland Empire League game against Sandpoint at Corbit Field in Rathdrum.