As far as symbolism goes, the upstart team playing the best team in Idaho was the best motivator second-year head coach Ryan Knowles and the Bulldogs could ask for.

There, in the first round of the 4A state playoffs, the emerging northern power went up against a vaunted Hillcrest team that went on to win the state title. A young run defense was pitted against a running back corps that featured future Division I athletes.

The result was a 45-0 loss that has not only motivated the returning starters, but also given the Sandpoint football staff a glimpse of the type of program they wish to become.

“It was interesting, picking ourselves up from that game in the way we lost and giving up the [523] rushing yards,” Knowles said. “They went right at our heart and they ripped it out. It was almost like, ‘Okay, that’s what we need to be, that’s what we’re going to be and we need to start putting the pieces together.’”

Instead of staring at the chasm between Hillcrest and themselves, the first year coach implored his players to use the loss as motivation during the offseason.

And the team embraced it.

Everything in the offseason became a competition, ranging from lifts, to tug-of-war matches, to three-on-three basketball. Knowing that the offseason could very well be their last, the seniors took the lead in the offseason, the and the staff reconfigured itself in the The result is a team that, on paper, looks like the archetype for Knowles’ power brand of football, complete with a dual-threat quarterback, a deep linemen core, a new offensive coordinator in Jeremy Thielbahr and collegiate-level talent on both ends of the ball.

“We knew what losing like [the Hillcrest game] felt, so what we’re going to do is bottle that up. These guys all took it to heart.”

The 20-plus group of seniors on the Bulldogs have leaders in every phase of the game. On offense, dual-threat quarterback Jaxon Pettit returns after his 10-touchdown junior campaign. Knowles has brought Pettit at skill showcases held at area colleges the offseason, and has been impressed with the progress he has made this summer.

“He’s been reducing his decision-making time and we’re getting the ball out of his hands,” Knowles said of his quarterback. “I look at some of our shortcomings last year and I think we have answers to them when we have to throw the ball around.”

Pettit will have the opportunity to play for new offensive coordinator Jeremy Thielbahr, who sent QBs went on to play everywhere from UCLA to Nevada to Claremont McKenna at his last stop in Eastside Catholic (WA). Now at his alma mater, Thielbahr is tasked with revamping an offense that will lose last year’s top running back (Dillan Mitton) and do-it-all receiver (Alex Stockton).

“Thielbahr has shown me how to read the game better,” Pettit said. “I understand the game a lot more this year than I do last year.”

Pettit believes Braden Kappen and Payton Cox will be able to step in at running back, while receivers like Christian Niemela and Max Thielbahr will be the top wideouts this season. The former, a senior entertaining college football scholarship offers, was an all-league selection on defense and special teams last year, while the latter is a rising junior with speed and length.

The main man in charge of giving Pettit time to find his targets is left tackle — and recent University of Montana football commit — Brandon Casey, who put on 40 pounds of muscle after basketball season this winter. At 6’5” with long arms, Knowles believes he’ll be a physical mismatch for run-of-the-mill high school defensive linemen he’ll be facing this season.

But what sets Sandpoint apart is its revolving door of linemen — music to the ears for running a run-focused offense. Seniors Jake Suhr, Connor Hutchings, Dylan Peterson, Jackson Prior and Isaiah Caralis give the Bulldogs an experienced, close-knit group that has made significant progress in the offseason under offensive line coach Greg Yarno.

“We’re one of the tightest groups on the field because all of us have been playing together since sixth grade,” Casey said. “Not all of us have necessarily played line, but we all know each other. And now that we’re seniors, we all have one goal in mind. It’s awesome. I think this season we’ll surprise a lot of people.”

An area where the Bulldogs can surprise most opponents is its defense. Hiring assistants like Thielbahr and Yarno has helped free up Knowles’ time in year two; by delegating offensive and line responsibilities elsewhere, Knowles has used that extra time to tap into his defensive background and create tweaks to the defense.

“There are going to be a lot more wrinkles in our defense this year that I didn’t have the time to get to last year with everything going on,” Knowles said. “We had some good spots on defense last year, but we’re not even close to where my vision of our defense is. I think we’re much closer to that now.”

While depth on defense is thinner than Knowles would like, the personnel has given Knowles a plethora of reasons to be optimistic.

On paper, the defense has the star power and athleticism to turn some heads and make game-changing plays.

No player embodies that more on defense like rising junior Tag Benefield, who led the team with 104 tackles on the season — more than doubling the second-highest mark on the team — plus a sack and a forced fumble in his IEL Defensive MVP campaign.

“On defense we’re looking a lot better in how we talk and communicate out there,” Benefield said. “Our defensive line was good last year, but we’re looking a lot more solid this year. I think we can go deep in the playoffs if we really try.”

Despite losing field corner Riley Anderson, rising senior Lance Harrison will step up in his place. Fresh faces joining him include juniors Keith Jensen and Isaac Webb, both of whom have stood out in scrimmages thus far on the defensive line and OLB, respectively.

Throw in athletic cornerback Elijah Larson and the aforementioned Niemela, and the secondary has an array of athletes whose strengths compliment each other.

Of course, this defense (and the whole team) has set it sights on one night in particular: Friday, Oct. 11 at Moscow.

Last season, the Bears stormed back with a 21-point fourth quarter, which not only ruined Sandpoint’s homecoming, but also eventually became a pivotal game in terms of playoff seeding.

“You circle one day on our calendar, that’s it,” Knowles said. “I’m not going to lie: that loss hurt. The people on their bus made their chance to win better than ours. And I give them all the credit.”

Aside from league games, four postseason teams from last year are on the non-conference schedule. With no Canadian teams, no smaller schools and mostly 5A-level (or equivalent) opponents, the Bulldogs have opted for a trial-by-fire in order to become the program they want to be.

“All our games are going to be tough; we’re not going to walk into a stadium and say we’re going to roll anybody,” Knowles said. “Egotistically speaking, if we play our game, I say who beats us. But we need to prove that we can play our game.”

Sandpoint football will kick off year two under Ryan Knowles at Post Falls today at 7 p.m.

The home opener is slated for Sept. 13 against Connell.