CdA sneaks past Sandpoint
SANDPOINT – Junior J.J. Turbin was perfect in the first half of his first start at quarterback for the Coeur d’Alene Vikings Friday night.
In the second half he got the job done.
Taking advantage of good field position, Turbin led the Vikings to 10 points in the fourth quarter to pull out a 17-10 victory at Sandpoint in the season opener.
“We were playing well (in the first half), we just needed to relax and have fun,” Turbin said. “My job is to protect the football, don’t give it away.”
It was Turbin’s 3-yard sneak with 1:43 to play that won the game.
“We had four possessions in the red zone we didn’t finish,” CdA coach Shawn Amos said. “That was as much them as us. It was a good battle, give them a lot of credit. We’ve got a lot of growing up to do … but the bottom line is we got it done.”
All three Vikings scores were set up by the defense, which limited Sandpoint to 213 yards, 41 in the second half, and special teams
“Our kids battled, it was a good opener, someone had to win,” Bulldogs coach Mike Mitchell said. “If we hadn’t given them the short field … I think our kids got tired.”
Turbin hit all seven of his passes in the first half for 126 yards but came up empty on two long drives that took CdA into the red zone.
But a blocked punt allowed the Vikings to start their third possession on the Sandpoint 37 and they cashed in on Turbin’s swing pass that Matt Conger turned into a 17-yard score.
A big kickoff return by Kyle Gibson set up the Bulldogs on their 40.
Tailback Sione Puailoa did most of the work until Ryan Armbruster threw a fade into the left corner of the end zone that Gibson snagged away from Tom Breazeal for a 17-yard touchdown 21 seconds before halftime.
That made it 10-7 because after CdA turned the ball over on downs at the 1, Armbruster’s pin-point passing took the Bulldogs to the Viking 23 where Gibson kicked a 40-yard field goal. Armbruster hit 10 of 12 passes for 133 yards in the first half.
Gibson was wide right with a 34-yard field-goal attempt on the first possession of the second half but the Vikings were going nowhere, failing to get a first down in the third quarter. The CdA defense rose to the challenge, getting big sacks from Grant Turner and Tyler Smotherman that seemed to turn the tide.
“We didn’t change anything on defense, we just came together and played better as a team,” said Turner, who went both ways on the line. “We flew around the ball (and) when we got that first (sack) we just rallied around that.”
On the first play of the fourth quarter Johnny Carlson picked off an Armbruster overthrow near midfield. Consecutive big runs by Brad Mitchell and Conger got the ball to the 6 when the Vikings stalled again. Then on fourth down, sophomore Connor Williams, who only had one quarter to play because of junior varsity action, drilled a 24-yard field goal.
Sandpoint managed one first down before punting but the Vikings got the ball at midfield because of a shank. They were facing a fourth-and-inches from the 3 with 1:50 to go when Amos called a timeout. But instead of sending Williams in, Turbin led the offense out for the game-winning sneak.
“In non-league play, Wallace’s Tom Norris gained 238 total yards and added a touchdown as the Miners defeated visiting St. Maries 14-7. Wallace’s Marcus Matile completed 11 of 22 passes for 173 yards, with a TD and interception. … Lakeland used several ballcarriers to defeat host Bonners Ferry 49-16. Scott Carr, Kyle McCrige, Dan Donioan and Shawn Hiebert each scored on the ground. … Kootenai’s Ben Shannon and Jake Hall combined for 193 yards rushing and each added a touchdown as the Warriors rolled to a 54-26 home victory over Lakeside (Idaho) at Harrison.
Boys soccer
Spencer Swern scored a pair of goals and recorded an assist as the Bulldogs thumped the Bengals 7-0 at Lewiston in Inland Empire League play.
Girls soccer
Junior Bailey Hewitt netted four goals to lead a 7-0 victory over visiting Lewiston in Inland Empire League play. Keeper Kelsey Winju pitched the shutout, recording five saves in her first high school game.