Wolves have reason to smile

As far as Lake City High football coach Van Troxel is concerned, his Timberwolves’ 49-31 win over Sandpoint was one of the most enjoyable in the school’s 12-year history.

The reason is simple – it was homecoming, and historically Troxel’s Timberwolves haven’t played well during homecoming.

Troxel said his team practiced well this week and it was evident in the non-league game Friday.

The No. 1-ranked Timberwolves (4-0) scored on each of their first seven possessions. Before the Bulldogs could blink, LC held a commanding 49-7 lead with 10:32 remaining.

“They executed very well and played very hard,” Troxel said. “It was very satisfying. It was a good way to start and end homecoming. How many times have we been 13, 14 points down during homecoming in the first quarter? So this one was nice.”

Struggling 4A Sandpoint, losing for a fourth straight time to a 5A team, kept its starters in until the end as the Bulldogs were striving to find something positive to build on. They hope the final three touchdowns they scored against LC’s second- and third-string defenses is something they can finally parlay into a midseason run that includes four straight games at home.

“I don’t care what the score was,” Troxel said. “They’re trying to get their kids to play hard and gain some confidence. They were doing what they needed to do (late in the game) to get better. That’s the way the game is supposed to be played.”

LC took the game’s opening kickoff and cruised 80 yards in nine plays before running back B.J. Palmer capped the drive with a 5-yard run off a late pitch from quarterback Garren Hammons.

Surprisingly, Sandpoint answered LC’s TD march with an impressive series of its own, going 80 yards in 11 plays before running back Kurt Stoll dashed 10 yards for a TD.

But that would be Sandpoint’s only offensive highlights until the game was well decided.

It was all LC from that point on. The T-Wolves moved up and down the field without a hitch. LC’s second-string offense scored the team’s third TD. Backup QB Zach Clanton dove into the end zone from a yard out to give the T-Wolves a 21-7 lead.

With the starters back on the field, LC ran its 2-minute offense to perfection in the final 1:45 of the first half. The savvy Hammons threw five passes in the drive before darting the final 9 yards for the score, giving the T-Wolves a 28-7 lead at halftime.

LC defensive end James Larson busted up a QB-running back exchange on Sandpoint’s first offensive play of the second half as Larson recovered the fumble at the Bulldogs 23-yard line. Six plays later, Hammons scored from a yard out on a sneak.

After forcing Sandpoint to punt, Palmer sprinted 49 yards on a counter to put LC ahead 42-7 with 5:15 left in the third quarter.

Then LC capped its scoring on the next series when third-string QB Tommy Anderson rambled 25 yards on a draw.

Hammons finished with a combined 165 yards running and passing, including three rushing TDs.

“Garren’s just doing a really good job,” Troxel said.

Sandpoint first-year coach Mike Mitchell, who was the head coach at DeAnza College, a two-year community college in California, before moving to Sandpoint, believes colleges should be all over Hammons.

“That’s a class quarterback,” Mitchell said. “I’d be doing everything I could, if I was one of these colleges around here, to get him because he’s tough and he plays tough. I really like a lot of things about him.”

LC has a bye next week before going across town for the big showdown with Coeur d’Alene. Sandpoint is home Friday against Bonners Ferry.