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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Bowman’s Glad He Gave Football A Chance Highly Recruited Sandpoint Star Helped Revive A Dying Program

Sometimes an athlete’s least favorite sport ends up being his best. Or the one that opens the door to the best opportunities.

A prime example is Sandpoint High senior wide receiver Caleb Bowman, a 6-foot-2, 175-pound speedster.

Bowman is thankful he listened to his heart three years ago and not his head.

Among the schools that have offered or said they will offer him recruiting trips after the season are Nebraska, California, Stanford, Washington State and a couple more Pacific-10 Conference schools.

And to think Bowman almost walked away from football. He didn’t turn out initially his freshman year, then changed his mind after missing the first few weeks of practice and the first game.

The major reason for his initial reluctance was that he couldn’t get excited about playing in a program that was next to dead. In junior high, it hadn’t been enjoyable to go watch the high school team lose all the time.

Prior to Bowman’s sophomore year, Sandpoint hadn’t had a winning season since 1988, when he was in the third grade.

From 1989 to 1993, Sandpoint had a 4-39-3 record. While he was in junior high, the Bulldogs went 1-15-2.

There was a slight glimmer of hope. The coach who had allowed the life to be sucked out of the program had resigned, and the new coach, Satini Puailoa, overflowing with enthusiasm, tripled the turnout for four grades his first year.

For that reason, Bowman decided to give football a try. Still the sport took a distant third behind his first love, basketball, and baseball.

His freshman team went undefeated (6-0), but Bowman’s enthusiasm was tempered somewhat by lack of action.

He was essentially a statue at wide receiver that year. He caught just one pass (“I think it was for 15 yards,” he said).

Bowman again considered dropping football.

He and Puailoa laugh about it now.

“I was so busy (the first year) trying to fix things in the program and create interest that I don’t remember Caleb,” Puailoa said.

Bowman caught the coach’s attention later that year in basketball when he was promoted to varsity.

“I walked into the gym and saw him running up the court and I thought he had a ton of potential,” Puailoa said.

Puailoa talked Bowman into attending a summer camp at the University of Idaho. That fall, he earned a starting job on varsity.

The coach couldn’t have drawn up a better welcome-to-varsity script for Bowman, either. The first time Bowman touched the football, in a season-opening game against Bonners Ferry, he returned a kickoff for a touchdown.

He caught 26 passes that year for 502 yards. He returned two kickoffs for touchdowns and caught two TD passes.

His junior season was marred by personal disappointment and team disappointment at season’s end. Bowman broke a collarbone in the opener and missed the next four games.

Nonetheless, Sandpoint reeled off seven straight wins. However, the season ended with back-to-back losses to Lewiston (34-8) and Post Falls (39-27).

The final defeat, which kept Sandpoint out of the state playoffs, was a game Bowman will always believe the Bulldogs should have won.

His season statistics were respectable for what was essentially just four games: 23 receptions for 704 yards (30.6 average) and five TDs.

Although he doesn’t come out and say it in so many words, it could be said Bowman is on a mission this year.

The Bulldogs appear to be a lock to earn one of the Inland Empire League’s three state berths. Nonetheless, Bowman wants revenge. He hopes the Bulldogs reverse the season-ending losses of last year.

He’s continued to play basketball (“I thought I was going to be a great player,” said Bowman, who was moved up to varsity as a freshman), but he gave up baseball to run track full time last year.

That was probably the second smartest decision he made. Sprinting all spring definitely increased his speed this fall, but it also put him in a different class.

The class of state champions.

Bowman captured the State A-1 sprint title in the 200 meters last spring and had a photo-finish for second in the 100.

College coaches took notice of Bowman last year while watching videotape of running back Jeremy Thielbahr (a redshirt freshman at Washington State) and linebacker Ryan Knowles (a redshirt freshman at University of Idaho).

Lake City opens IEL play next week against Sandpoint. LC coach Van Troxel’s top priority will be defending Bowman.

“He’s probably, based on pure athletic ability, the best athlete in North Idaho,” Troxel said. “He can run, jump; he can do just about everything. How can you defend somebody when you don’t have anybody who can run with him?”

Through three games, Bowman has caught 17 passes for 332 yards and three touchdowns, and has returned a kickoff for a score. He has his eye on a couple of school records.

Puailoa plans to get the ball to Bowman in a variety of ways, especially deep in the season.

Bowman won’t say which schools are on his short list for college. But he will allow that he wants to play in the Pac-10.

Bowman has a lot of personal goals, but none rank ahead of his desire for revenge against Lewiston and Post Falls, though.

And he hopes Sandpoint’s season extends well into November, if for no other reason than a way to say thanks to his coach.

“He’s meant everything to me,” Bowman said of Puailoa. “I wouldn’t be playing if it wasn’t for him.”

, DataTimes