Sandpoint players provide impact for Shriners’ game

When the North team in the fifth annual Calam Shrine North/South All-Star Football Classic has the ball, the offense will have a distinct Sandpoint High flavor.

That’s because nine starters off the State 4A runner-up Bulldogs team were chosen for the game. So it made sense that Satini Puailoa coached them one last time.

But Puailoa, who resigned as Sandpoint’s head coach, said he didn’t plan to assist with the North team in the 2004 game. But the Bulldogs asked him to coach. So he agreed to come out of retirement for one final game.

“I didn’t really want to do it, but I knew deep down inside I wouldn’t be able to say no if they asked,” Puailoa said.

For a second straight year, the All-Star Classic features two games – 11-man and eight-man contests. The doubleheader begins Saturday afternoon with the eight-man game at 2 at the University of Idaho’s Kibbie Dome followed at about 4:30 by the 11-man game.

The contests feature the 2004 graduates from District I (the five northernmost counties) and District II (schools from Potlatch to Riggins including Washington schools Clarkston and Asotin). Proceeds from the games will help the more than 500,000 orthopedic, burn and spinal rehabilitation patients cared for by the 22 Shriners Hospitals for Children throughout North America.

Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for youth 18 and under. One ticket is good for both games.

The 11-man rosters feature 27 players; the eight-man teams have at least 15 players.

Timberlake coach Roy Albertson is coordinating the North 11-man team while Norbert Lane of Mullan is doing likewise for the North eight-man team.

Puailoa was the head coach last year when the North routed the South 43-0 in the 11-man game.

The South won the eight-man game 76-18.

In the 11-man game, the North pulled out several trick plays. Puailoa said he may go even deeper into his bag of gadgets Saturday.

“We want to make it as entertaining an evening as possible,” Puailoa said. “There will be stuff out there that you don’t normally see in your average high school game. We’re going to use more gadgets this year than last year. When people come to this game and participate in this game you need to understand we’re going out there to have a ball regardless of what happens. We could fall flat on our face, but we’re going to have fun.”

Albertson agrees with Puailoa’s approach.

“We’re doing more water skiing and eating than practicing,” Albertson said. “We’re going to be so fat by Saturday that nobody will be able to run. The main thing to remember is the kids are creating memories. They’ll remember the fun they have more than they’ll remember the final score. Our goal is for all the players to play an equal amount of time. The hardest part of practices has been sprinting to the tables to eat.”

Here are the rosters for the North’s 11-man and eight-man teams:

11-man: Coeur d’Alene–Carl Roeller, Chris Camarata and Doug Wheeler. Lake City–Jared Adams and A.J. Hartman. Bonners Ferry–Josh Singleton, Jacob High, Mark Pluid. Kellogg-Kyle Mann and Joe Murinko. Lakeland–Corey Sweeney and Andy Kifer. St. Maries–Dusty Brown. Sandpoint–Isao Puailoa, Troy Watson, Chris Florea, Anthony Rodriguez, Jeremy Way, Rory Fawley, Steve Wold, Nick Albertson, Dewayne Beyers. Timberlake–Chris Briggs, Jordan Redman, Zack Jones, Devon Olson. Wallace–Vincent Lee.

Eight-man: Clark Fork–Russell Warner and Weston Greenbach. Kootenai–Tom Steves, Jesse Dyer, Mitch Krupp, J.J. Rodgers and Travis Mitchell. Mullan–James Hegbloom, Norbert Lane Jr., Jeff James, Dustin Mansell and Ray Hammond. Post Falls Christian–Jon Fordham, Matt Kelson, Bob Meredith and Judd Swank. Wallace–Matt Michael and Nathan Septel.