SANDPOINT — It’s amazing how many football games can turn on a special teams play. It happens all the time at every level of the sport, and it happened Friday night in Sandpoint’s 35-21 loss to Mt. Spokane in the Homecoming game at Barlow Stadium.

With a mostly even game tied at 7-7 early in third quarter, the Bulldogs (1-3) muffed a punt on their own 2-yard line, and Mt. Spokane (3-0) scored on the next play, seizing momentum and running off 28 unanswered points in the second half.

With several key starters playing with injuries, and once again facing a team that could well go deep into the post-season, the Bulldogs were still able to put up 337 yards of total offense. But Mt. Spokane won the battle of field position all night, and were able to finish a lot of shorter drives.

“Our playmakers are beat up on offense, and we can’t sustain anything, which puts our defense out there all night,” said Bulldogs head coach Satini Puailoa, noting Wyatt McCormick-Cox, Kyle Perry and Michael Plaster all played dinged up. “We got our daubers down. These guys (Mt. Spokane) are supposed to win the GSL. We didn’t rally, and it’s not going to be that easy.”

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