Sandpoint’s Kyle Perry bounces back from turf toe

Sandpoint running back Kyle Perry had many reasons to believe his senior season would be as productive as his junior year.

After all, Perry rushed for nearly 1,600 yards and scored 29 touchdowns a year ago. But he got off on the wrong foot in the season opener. More precisely, a big toe.

Perry suffered a turf toe injury – akin to a sprain – in Sandpoint’s 20-19 win over Post Falls that was played at the Kibbie Dome because of wildfires and smoke-filled skies in the region.

“I was wearing a shoe that I wore for combines and camps,” Perry said. “It’s pretty much a track shoe. I thought it would be good on turf but there was no support for the toes.”

The injury occurred in the first half, but Perry continued to play.

“I was tackled from behind and my big left toe hyper flexed backwards,” Perry said.

Perry likely would have still suffered an injury had he been wearing a shoe with better support.

“At least it wouldn’t have been as severe,” he said. “It probably would have been a little bruised.”

And if Perry had his druthers, he would have taken about four games off to let the injury heal so he could be healthy the rest of the season. But he was fooled because the injury immediately got better.

It didn’t heal, though.

“He did everything to try and rehab it,” Sandpoint coach Satini Puailoa said. “But it wouldn’t get any better.”

“I just thought it was something I could play through,” said Perry. If I had it to do over again …. It’s the old hindsight.”

Perry was rendered ineffective until well into the second half of the season.

“Basically you’ve got a 200-pound, 11.3-second sprinter running a 12 flat (100 meters),” Puailoa said. “He couldn’t push off on it.”

Perry talked to a number of people. Some advised resting it. Some said he could rehab it and continue to play.

He went from a 140-yards per game back to one who averaged less than 50 his first three games.

Perry played just one quarter in the fourth game, gaining 11 yards before he had to go to the sideline. And he made it to the second quarter in the fifth game before leaving.

“There were games we said just go run straight,” Puailoa said. “We wouldn’t let him practice until Thursdays. We wanted him to have a reps before he tried to play on Fridays.”

The week of the Sandpoint’s sixth game, though, Perry decided to sit out of practice and the game. He returned the following Monday.

“I needed to see what kind of healing could take place,” he said. “It made some progress. I wasn’t 100 percent but at that point in the season I figured with a tape job I could play a lot better.”

He had three straight games with more than 100 yards rushing. He’s raised his total to 703, averaging 5.3 per carry.

That’s almost three yards per carry under what he averaged last year, but Perry was just thankful he could make some football moves.

“It got to a point I could play with it and make normal cuts and accelerations,” he said. “I’m probably 95 percent now. It’s a little achy. I wouldn’t run with this toe if I was running the 100-meter dash but I can basically run normal.”

Sandpoint (8-3), which has won seven in a row, takes on No. 1-ranked and two-time defending State 4A champ Bishop Kelly (9-2) Saturday in the state final at the Kibbie Dome. Kickoff is at 1.

The irony of his first and last game being at the Kibbie Dome isn’t lost on Perry.

“The injury was devastating for a while,” said Perry, who has been offered a scholarship by the University of Idaho. “It was a weird thing to process. It was hard on me for a while.”

As the injury has healed, Perry has added more responsibilities. The last two games he has averaged between 15 and 20 snaps at left defensive end.

“It’s been a tough year for him mentally,” Puailoa said. “He worked his fanny off to have a great season and then he injured himself.”

Perry’s injury was a personal curse and a blessing for the team.

“We developed a lot more playmakers,” Puailoa said.

Perry is grateful he can play a sizeable role in Sandpoint’s game plan for Saturday.

And he wants to prove it’s not how you start the season but how you finish.

“It’s the last time I get to play with the guys I’ve grown up with,” he said. “I’m going to put my heart out there and see what happens.”