After flying high against Davis last Friday, Sandpoint came back down to earth. The Sandpoint Bulldogs and the Pocatello Thunder were almost perfectly matched up on Friday, but the Sandpoint Bulldogs suffered a 49-48 defeat. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Friday (37), the Bulldogs still had to take the loss.
When it comes to explaining why Sandpoint lost, don't look at Drew Lehman. Despite the final result, he rushed for 72 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 144 yards and two touchdowns while completing 81.3% of his passes. Another player making a difference was Ashlei Hawkins, who rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown while picking up 7.6 yards per carry.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Sandpoint was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 314 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 158 rushing yards in five consecutive games.
Sandpoint's loss dropped their record down to 3-2. As for Pocatello, their win bumped their record up to 3-1.
Sandpoint will look to defend their home field on Friday against Coeur d'Alene at 7:00 p.m. Sandpoint will stroll in with a six game home winning streak (dating back to last season), but they should still watch out: the last time they lost at home was their the first matchup with Coeur d'Alene. As for Pocatello, they will head out to challenge Highland at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Highland will roll in looking for their fifth straight victory, something Pocatello surely won't give up without a fight.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
