Vikings overcome errors, Bulldogs

SANDPOINT — Coeur d’Alene will take the win, and the chance to play at home the next two weeks. 

But errors — three lost fumbles and a plethora of penalties — didn’t sit well with Vikings coach Shawn Amos after his team’s 46-20 victory over the Sandpoint Bulldogs in nonleague play Friday night at Barlow Stadium. 

“The boys found a way to win,” said Amos, whose squad was playing its fourth straight road game. “I wasn’t very pleased with our discipline. We have a chance to be a really good football team, and those mental lapses (stuff like late hits, and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties) are going to cost you down the line. The kids played hard, but they don’t have to make it as hard on themselves. We told the kids, if you want to make a run in the playoffs, those things can’t happen.” 

Coeur d’Alene (4-1) led 26-20 early in the third quarter, then pulled away from Sandpoint (3-3) by scoring the game’s final 20 points. 

Coeur d'Alene went up 7-0 early on a touchdown pass from Caden Symons to Kolbe Coey on the first drive of the game. 

As time expired in the first quarter, Drew Lehman rushed 2 yards into the end zone on the ensuing drive and connected with Jesse Turner on the two-point conversion to put the Bulldogs ahead 8-7. 

In the second, the Vikings scored quickly on a 40-yard pass from Symons to Kai Wheeler, but the Bulldogs marched down the field and Reid Bradburn nailed a 25-yard field goal to make it a 13-11 contest. Coeur d'Alene scored two touchdowns, one on a 90-yard kickoff return by senior Evan Williams and another on a 2-yard rush by Christian Young. Bradburn, with 10 seconds remaining before halftime, was able to put another field goal through the uprights, this time a 31-yarder, to make it a 26-14 game at the half. 

After a lost Vikings fumble Maverick Gomez caught a 7-yard pass from Braden Buckhout to bring the Bulldogs back within six. 

Coeur d’Alene outgained Sandpoint 377-320. 

"They're a very good football team that's going to go on and do very well the rest of the year," Sandpoint coach Ryan Knowles said of Coeur d'Alene. 'We have some depth and injury problems, and like to be resilient enough to overcome those, but they sort of reared their ugly head tonight." 

Coeur d’Alene plays host to Camas (Wash.) next Friday.

Sandpoint (3-3) travels to Lake City on Friday. 

Coeur d’Alene 7 19 13 7 — 46 

Sandpoint 8 6 6 0 —  20 

First quarter 

CDA — Coey 18 pass from Symons (kick good), 9:01 

SPT — Lehman 2 run (two-point good), 0:00 

Second quarter 

CDA — Wheeler 40 pass from Symons (two-point no good), 11:12 

SPT — Bradburn 25 field goal, 6:41 

CDA — Williams 90-yard kickoff return (kick no good), 6:25 

CDA  — Young 2 run (kick good), 2:55 

SPT —  Bradburn 31 field goal, 0:10 

Third quarter 

SPT — Gomez 7 pass from Buckhout (two-point no good), 10:19 

CDA — Coey 70 pass from Symons (two-point no good), 9:56 

CDA — Wheeler 10 pass from Stern (kick good), 0:44 

Fourth quarter 

CDA — Williams 42 pass from Symons, 7:35 

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS 

RUSHING: CDA — Stern 4-48, Young 5-34, Thompson 5-33, Symons 2-9, Myers 1-0. SPT — Palmer 16-85, Hawkins 11-45, Lehman 10-44, Buckhout 3-18, Gomez 2-8, Williams 3-6. 

PASSING: CDA — Symons 11-19-3-230, Stern 3-4-1-23. SPT — Lehman 10-14-0-100, Buckhout 5-19-1-22, Tyler 0-1-0-0. 

RECEIVING: CDA — Coey 4-108, Wheeler 5-73, Murray 2-44, Cady 1-16, Williams 1-12. SPT — Turner 4-60, Gomez 4-24, Williams 3-20, Hawkins 1-14, Newhart 3-4. 

    JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Kai Wheeler of Coeur d'Alene hauls in a touchdown pass against Sandpoint on Friday night at Barlow Stadium in Sandpoint.
  

    JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Tucker Booth (8) of Coeur d'Alene runs with the football on Friday night at Sandpoint.