Historic football rivalry returns to War Memorial Field

SANDPOINT — Two longtime rivals will clash tonight when Sandpoint football welcomes Coeur d’Alene to War Memorial Field.

Last fall, the pandemic allowed the teams to renew their historic rivalry for the first time since 2011. The Vikings handed SHS a crushing 55-0 defeat in Coeur d’Alene.

That loss left the Bulldogs with a nasty taste in their mouths and they are eager to show the entire state how far the program has come since that night.

Head coach Ryan Knowles said the team discussed that performance this week as they evaluated last year’s game film and looked back on camps against the Vikings over the summer. He expects Friday’s game between the North Idaho heavyweights to look a lot different.

“55-0 is embarrassing and I’d be shocked if that were the outcome again this year,” he said.

Dating back to 2002, Coeur d’Alene has won nine of the last 11 meetings between the two schools, including four straight. Knowles said CDA is such a demanding team to prepare for because they do everything the right way. From top to bottom, the Vikings’ program is a well-oiled machine thanks in large part to longtime coach Shawn Amos.

Coeur d’Alene has advanced to at least the 5A state semifinals each of the last four years.

“If you look at North Idaho they’ve been the standard here for quite a while when you look at their domination in the [Inland Empire League],” Knowles said.

Sandpoint is trying to build something similar, and each game they move one step closer.

“Every day that’s what we’re working toward here is a program that is respected,” Knowles said.

The Vikings enter Friday’s matchup fresh off a season-opening 33-7 defeat to Lehi in Rexburg. Lehi, a 6A school in Utah’s largest classification, held Coeur d’Alene to just 85 total yards. The Vikings will certainly be fired up to get back on track against Sandpoint.

The Bulldog defense will need to contain running back Gunner Giulio, who tallied 130 total yards and two touchdowns in last year’s matchup, and new starting quarterback Brayden Bengtson.

Offensively, Sandpoint will be challenged by a Coeur d’Alene defense that is very physical and loaded with talent, Knowles said. Cameren Cope, Isaiah Griffin and Jaxson Washington, who have all received Division I interest, are just a few of the players the Bulldogs will see Friday night.

But the Bulldogs will counter with an offense that is multi-faceted and hard to contain. Sandpoint rolled past Post Falls last week 35-7 with a formidable running attack, racking up 377 yards on the ground.

The Bulldogs debuted their new offensive wrinkle in the second half against the Trojans — the wing-T. The formation is just another weapon that offensive coordinator Jeremy Thielbahr has at his disposal this fall, and it makes Sandpoint that much harder to prepare for.

With the talent and playbook the Bulldogs have, Knowles feels the offense can be extremely flexible this season and bend to whatever the defense is giving them.

It also puts tremendous stress on a defense when you have a dual-threat quarterback like Parker Pettit, who rushed for 183 yards in the season opener.

Football is a numbers game and having a running quarterback limits a defense’s ability to get depth, which creates opportunities for big plays, Knowles said. Despite the insane numbers, Knowles wasn’t surprised by how much Pettit’s legs impacted the game against the Trojans.

“We see it in practice all the time,” he said, “and defensively it’s a load when you put that guy in the equation.”

Running back Gerrit Cox accounted for over 150 total yards and five touchdowns against Post Falls, and it doesn’t look like he’ll be slowing down anytime soon.

The Sandpoint defense was just as impressive against the Trojans, holding them to their fewest points scored since last October when Coeur d’Alene contained them to 7 points as well.

Cody Steiger led the way with a pair of interceptions and eight tackles, and the rest of the Sandpoint defense was flying around all night long. The big lead entering the fourth quarter in the season opener also allowed Knowles to get his backups some playing time, so the Bulldogs’ starting unit should enter

Friday’s matchup extremely fresh.

There was plenty of excitement around the program following the commanding victory over 5A Post Falls — and rightfully so. But the Bulldogs quickly turned the page and set their sights on the Vikings.

“You win that game and it felt really good, and then you have the tall task of facing Coeur d’Alene the next week and it grounds you fairly quickly,” Knowles said.

To be successful against Coeur d’Alene, Knowles said the Bulldogs must be fundamentally sound and command three statistical areas that win ballgames — turnovers, rushing yards and explosive plays.

“I’m a big fan of making the other team beat you and good teams make that hard,” he said. “Good teams try to confuse you and make it difficult, so that’s what we’ve been focusing on all week in practice is take care of the controllables and look up at the scoreboard later because you like what you see.”

Friday’s matchup will pit the No. 5 ranked team in Idaho (Coeur d’Alene) vs. No. 11 (Sandpoint), according to MaxPreps. Knowles recognizes how big this game is and he’s thrilled that it’s being played on the Bulldogs’ home turf.

“A lot of people are going to be watching,” he said, “and I’m glad it’s at our venue, I’m glad we get to show this place off a little bit and I’m glad the town gets to see this kind of football because it's going to help the future.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. You can listen to the game on AM 1400 KSPT, ROCK 103 (FM 102.9) or rock103fm.com. The game will also be livestreamed on spbulldogs.com.