COEUR d’ALENE — Lake City senior quarterback Matt DuchowDuchow scored on an 11-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, then threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Alec Baughman in the fourth quarter as the Timberwolves beat the Sandpoint Bulldogs 28-7 in a nonleague football game.

Duchow finished with 63 yards rushing and completed 10 of 21 passes for 110 yards.

“He did an awesome job,” said Erickson of Duchow. “He played safety for us last week and he said he wanted to compete for the quarterback spot again and so him and (Bryce) Buttz went at it in practice during the week. And I thought Matt made some huge runs and made some big throws for us and was really happy to see Matt do well tonight. He got injured and for him to come back and get this win before we get into conference play next week. It was huge for him and this football team.”

Lake City has won 11 of the last 12 meetings between the teams.

Grant Clark ran for 174 yards and a touchdown for Lake City, which got key interceptions from James Anderson and Chase Moyer in the second quarter to stop Sandpoint drives.

“It was a great team effort,” Erickson said. “We came out really hot on offense at first, and then they made some adjustments. They wanted to stop the run, and up until that last drive in the fourth quarter, we didn’t make the plays down the field we wanted to. That’s a great program, great coaching staff and one of the most physical teams we’ve played this year, and I think we matched them. When you play Sandpoint, you have to be ready for a physical game. It was a great team effort and glad that those seniors got to go out with a win on homecoming.”

Sandpoint drove down the field and scored a touchdown on its opening possession of the third quarter, scoring on a 16-yard touchdown run by Levi Irish.

“If that first quarter doesn’t happen, it’s obviously a lot tighter game than that,” first-year Sandpoint coach George Yarno said. “We took a little while to get going, and hats off to Lake City, they came out and put three touchdowns on us real quick. Our defense is usually a lot more sturdy than that. They just came out and executed more than we did tonight.”

Sandpoint (2-4) has lost to three 5A Inland Empire League schools, Post Falls, Lewiston and Lake City.

“I think we’re close, but close gets you beat,” Yarno said. “We’re close to executing well on offense and defense, but until you get perfect at it, close gets you beat. We’re not playing horseshoes and hand-grenades tonight. We’re going to put our nose the grindstone and keep working.”

The Bulldogs once again got a strong defensive effort, highlighted by the play of Nick Holland, Clayton Fournier, Zack Alamillo and Walker Jacobson, all of whom had some big plays. Ultimately, the slow start did them in.

“We came out a little flat, and they executed better than us. They scored 21 in the first quarter. If that doesn’t happen, it’s a different ball game,” said Yarno. “Offensively, we got some stuff rolling, but then we turned it over or got stopped on fourth and one. I told my kids I believe in them. If it’s fourth and one, we’re going for it. I play to win, not to not lose. I’ll never not do that with these kids.”

Lake City (3-3) opens 5A IEL play next Friday, hosting Post Falls.

Sandpoint travels to Eastmont High of East Wenatchee next Friday before opening 4A IEL play at Moscow on Oct. 7.

Sandpoint 0 0 7 0 — 7

Lake City 21 0 0 7 — 28

LC — Matt Duchow 14 run (Marco Rojo kick), 9:11

LC — Zane Lettau 1 run (Rojo kick), 4:39

LC — Grant Clark 31 run (Rojo kick), 1:41

Spt — Levi Irish 16 run (Sawyer Seley kick), 7:22

LC — Alec Baughman 28 pass from Duchow (Rojo kick), 2:56

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Spt, Irish 26-99, Alamillo 2-20, Jacobson 6-17, Johnson 6-32. LC, Clark 20-174, Duchow 9-63, Z. Lettau 11-20.

PASSING — Spt, Johnson, 8-27-2-88. LC, Duchow, 10-21-1-110.

RECEIVING — Spt, Jacobson 2-16, Alamillo 2-26, Davis 2-45, Barajas 2-1. LC, Pierard 5-52, Watkins 1-9, Baughman 1-28, Goldthorpe 3-21.