Eight local players on 1st team
Eight football players from North Idaho – half from Sandpoint – were first-team selections to All-Idaho teams.
Named to all-state teams were: 5A – Chris Delport, a senior wide receiver, and Byron Hout, a sophomore defensive lineman, from Lake City; 4A – Sheldon Cramer, a senior offensive lineman; Erik Stoll, a senior defensive back; Andrew Meaux, a senior linebacker; and Kurt Stoll, a junior running back, from Sandpoint; 3A – Ben Turner, a senior offensive lineman, from Bonners Ferry; and 1A – Flynn Vick, a senior punter, from Post Falls Christian Academy.
The Idaho Statesman newspaper in Boise announced its 30th annual All-Idaho Teams last weekend. The teams are voted by coaches statewide.
Eleven area players were selected to second teams. They are: Kyle Ferebee (running back), Mike Vickhammer (offensive lineman), Matt Widmyer (linebacker) and Steve Novotny (defensive back) of Lake City and Brian Oliver (offensive lineman) and Scott Lind (defensive back) of Coeur d’Alene in 5A; Dusty Mullaley (offensive lineman) of Post Falls in 4A; Matt Rice (wide receiver and place-kicker) of Bonners Ferry and Zach Clow (punter) of Priest River in 3A; and Cory Pehan (defensive back) and Jesse James (linebacker) of Mullan in 1A.
LC (9-2) advanced to the semifinals. Delport caught a team-high 23 passes for 545 yards. Timberwolves coach Van Troxel told the Statesman that his receiver was a “great game-breaker” and “a big-play receiver.”
Hout led LC with 87 tackles, 5½ sacks, 13 tackles for loss, four blocked punts, five forced fumbles, three recovered fumbles and 12 quarterback hurries. “(The) best sophomore we’ve ever had,” Troxel told the Boise newspaper.
Kurt Stoll rushed for 1,803 yards and 23 touchdowns and caught 26 passes for 350 and two TDs as Sandpoint (6-5) came within 2 minutes of upsetting defending state champ Bishop Kelly in the semifinals. “Kurt has the best vision and instincts of any running back I’ve ever coached,” Bulldogs coach Sean Dorris told the Statesman.
Stoll’s brother, Erik, had a team-high 154 tackles. “Erik was the most dominate defensive player in the state,” Dorris said.
Turner, a three-year starter, was at the point of attack for Bonners Ferry’s (6-4) run to the Intermountain League championship. Turner also was a second-team pick on defense.
Vick averaged 38 yards per punt. Six were downed inside the opponents’ 10-yard line. “Flynn did everything I asked of him,” PFC coach Kevin Rouse said. “If I asked him to kick away from someone, he did it. When I told him to kick it out of bounds, he would make sure the ball carried far enough to pin the other team down.”
Players of the year in each classification were: Meridian senior quarterback Jake Burroughs (5A); Bishop Kelly senior QB Cody Hawkins (4A); Weiser senior RB Bryce Svedin (3A); Firth senior RB/DL Jesse Hofhine (2A); and Genesee senior RB/DB Carl Jensen.