Sandpoint hasn't had much luck against Coeur d'Alene recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Sandpoint Bulldogs will be playing in front of their home fans against the Coeur d'Alene Vikings 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.
Last Friday, Sandpoint was just a hair shy of victory and fell 49-48 to Pocatello. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game two weeks ago (37), the Bulldogs still had to take the loss.
Despite the defeat, Sandpoint got top-tier performance from Drew Lehman, who 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 matchups.
Meanwhile, after only six points in their last game, Coeur d'Alene made sure to put some points up on the board against Sunnyside two weeks ago. Coeur d'Alene took down Sunnyside 35-18. The Vikings' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Anthony Browning went supernova for Coeur d'Alene, rushing for 68 yards and two touchdowns. The team also got some help courtesy of Caden Symons, who threw for 238 yards and a touchdown while completing 71.9% of his passes.
Sandpoint's loss dropped their record down to 3-2. As for Coeur d'Alene, their win bumped their record up to 3-1.
Friday's contest might be decided in the trenches. Sandpoint has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 237.6 rushing yards per game. It's a different story for Coeur d'Alene, though, as they've been averaging only 95.2. How will they fare against such a dominant running game?
Sandpoint lost to Coeur d'Alene at home by a decisive 19-0 margin in their previous matchup back in September of 2023. Thankfully for Sandpoint, Carsen Speelman (who rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown on only nine carries) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
