Mahler keys Sandpoint rout
The bad news first: Sandpoint’s vaunted defense finally proved vulnerable.
Slightly.
The better news is that the Bulldogs’ Blake Mahler was almost unstoppable as he sparked a 52-19 Inland Empire League win over visiting Lewiston.
The senior wide receiver caught four touchdown passes from Eric DeMers, including a 62-yard scoring catch in the second quarter and a 70-yard strike in the third, dashed 33 yards for a fifth score, booted a 31-yard field goal and kicked six of seven PATs.
All told, Mahler caught eight passes for 217 yards for the Bulldogs — pulling in all eight of DeMers’ completed passes.
Coming into the game, Sandpoint had given up just one touchdown in 16 quarters of play, and the Bulldogs ran the string to 17 before Tyler Squires tossed a 14-yard scoring pass.
In other IEL action, Lake City rolled to a 42-26 win over Lakeland in Rathdrum. Quarterback Ben Widmyer completed 16 of 23 passes for 266 yards and three touchdowns and added a fourth on a 75-yard run in the first quarter.
Intermountain League
Bonners Ferry rallied with 20 unanswered, fourth-quarter points to top visiting St. Maries, 32-20. Junior Sam Botkin completed 7 of 20 passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 58 yards for a third score. Junior Ryan Cox pulled in a 37-yard touchdown strike in the fourth quarter and capped the comeback with an 18-yard interception return for a touchdown. … Timberlake got four rushing touchdowns from Nate Anderson en route to a 34-12 win over visiting Priest River. Anderson carried 24 times for 181 yards for the Tigers.
Non-league
Pullman scored 17 first-quarter points en route to a 37-7 victory over visiting Moscow. Junior Jeff Jones completed 16 of 27 passes for 203 yards and rushed for two touchdowns for the Greyhounds. Senior halfback Kyle Hinrichs caught six passes for 116 yards and a touchdown, rushed for 44 yards on six carries and intercepted two passes on defense. … Kellogg used a 20-point second quarter to earn a 35-21 road victory at Tekoa-Oakesdale/Rosalia. Brandon Landrum threw for one touchdown and rushed for two more to lead the Wildcats.
North Star League
Randy Scales rushed for two first-quarter touchdowns to spark Mullan to a 34-20 win over visiting Lakeside. Scales carried a dozen times and picked up 148 yards, Eric Knapp picked up another 97 on a dozen carries, including a fourth-quarter touchdown, and Joe Ploharz scored two rushing touchdowns. Corey Pehan had two interceptions as Mullan picked off the Knights four times. … Clark Fork staked Kootenai to a 6-0 lead, then scored 54 unanswered points for the win at home. Quarterback Clayton Hewitt threw for five touchdowns, rushed for a sixth and returned a Kootenai pass 27 yards for a seventh. Evan Martin was on the receiving end of three scoring passes.
Washington football
Freeman gave up two touchdowns, the first points scored on the Scotties this season, but it wasn’t enough as Kevin Hatch rushed for two touchdowns to spark a 27-12 victory over Newport in the Northeast A League opener for both schools. The senior running back dashed 80 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, then squirted into the end zone from 10 yards out for a 14-0 lead.
In the Northeast B-11 League, Republic scored three first-quarter touchdowns to spark a 27-12 victory over visiting Wilbur-Creston.