Sandpoint, Lake City fall short
SANDPOINT – The Sandpoint High football team was less than 2 minutes away from pulling off the unthinkable.
Problem was, the 2004 4A player of the year had one final miracle left up his sleeve.
Bishop Kelly quarterback Cody Hawkins hit wide receiver Stew Tracy with a well-thrown, 34-yard fade pass with 1:31 remaining as the Knights rallied to knock off upstart Sandpoint 21-20 in a State 4A semifinal Friday before a raucous crowd estimated at 2,500 at Barlow Stadium.
Despite blanket coverage by cornerback Chad Hecker, Hawkins put the touchdown pass where only Tracy could catch it. Matt Thomas’ point-after kick put the Knights (11-0) ahead by the final margin.
Then Bishop Kelly caught the Bulldogs (6-5) with their heads down on the ensuing kickoff. The Knights recovered a squib kick at Sandpoint’s 26-yard line. The Bulldogs forced BK to punt, but time ran out on Sandpoint’s upset bid.
Junior linebacker Josh Osich intercepted a pass as time expired.
The defending state-champion Knights will take their 23-game winning streak to Holt Arena in Pocatello where it will be a rematch of last year’s state final against Pocatello (11-0), which topped Blackfoot 20-15 in the other semifinal.
Hawkins said he had to do something to overcome what he called a poor game personally.
“It’s a win. That’s my job and we won,” said Hawkins, who completed 14 of 28 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns. “It wasn’t pretty, but I’ll take that over a loss any day.
“Our whole team played great. I didn’t think I played well, but I was trying to be a leader on the sidelines and get everybody fired up. I thought we really rallied the troops in the second half. We stayed positive because we always knew we’d make a play.”
When Sandpoint looks back on how close it came to pulling off a shocker, coach Sean Dorris said his team will know it should have won.
“It was an unbelievable effort,” Dorris said.
“That’s a game we should have won. We absolutely had our opportunities to win it. We had the lead late and we needed a first down or two and that game would have been over. You can never be happy with that.”
Sandpoint used a 13-play drive, culminating with a 24-yard TD scamper on a draw by Kurt Stoll, to break a 14-all tie after a scoreless third quarter. The march began in the third period with Stoll’s scamper coming with 9:31 to go for a 20-14 lead. Perhaps just as crucial as his TD reception later, Tracy blocked Sandpoint’s PAT.
The Bulldogs proceeded to weather a 15-play series by the Knights, stopping BK on fourth-and-goal at the 15 when Mat Lawrence knocked down a pass intended for a wide-open Casey Coyle in the end zone.
But Sandpoint couldn’t manage a first down on its ensuing possession, and BK got the ball back with 2:13 left following a punt at the Bulldogs’ 48.
Hawkins hit running back Cory Griffith on a little delay route in the middle for 19 yards.
Following an illegal motion penalty, Hawkins threw an incomplete pass on first down at the 34. Then the QB hit Tracy for the game winner on the next play.
“We run it a lot (the fade pass) and you’ve got to go with the guys that got you here,” BK coach Tim Brennan said.
“Cody, Aussie (Austin Gorringe) and Stewey (Tracy) got us here. They did a helluva job. I can’t say much else.”
Time after time, Hawkins hit Gorringe for key first-down conversions. Gorringe finished with eight catches for 77 yards.
Sandpoint outgained BK 197-186 in yards in the first half.
“Sandpoint has nothing to be ashamed of. I know its disheartening for them, but they played a helluva game,” Brennan said. “They outphysicaled us and it hurt.”
Hawkins also tipped his helmet to Sandpoint.
“Sandpoint played a great game and put us in tough situations where we had to throw and their guys made plays,” Hawkins said.
“Those guys played their hearts out. When people say leave it on the field, Sandpoint did just that. They gave everything they had and we gave everything we had.
“It was a great game.”
Stoll led Sandpoint with 40 carries for 218 yards and three touchdowns.