LEWISTON — A sluggish start came back to bite Sandpoint football as they fell 24-6 to Lewiston on Friday night.

The Bulldogs trailed 24-0 at the half. Head coach Ryan Knowles said if the offense could have put some points on the board in the first half, Sandpoint could have had a chance to win it with the way they played in the second half.

"It was right there," he said. "Tough opponent. Lewiston is a good team and they were humbled last week and we got their best shot."

The Bengals (3-2) scored a touchdown on two of their first three possessions to put the Bulldogs in a 16-0 hole after one quarter. But after giving up a touchdown midway through the second quarter, the Sandpoint defense buckled down the rest of the way and held Lewiston scoreless.

Knowles said his defense had a hard time adjusting to the Bengals up-tempo offense in the opening quarter.

"It confused us a little bit early just the pace of the game," he said. "We practiced it all week but the pace of the game caught us and guys were just a step behind, a step late sometimes."

Ultimately, the contest came down to turnovers and the running game. Sandpoint had three turnovers and was never to establish the running game, rushing for just 5 yards on 26 carries. Meanwhile, Lewiston was turnover free and rushed for 170 yards on 49 carries.

In the second half, the Sandpoint offense finally started to get in sync and put together a couple promising drives. Sophomore quarterback Parker Pettit found senior wide receiver Elijah Larson for a 24-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to pull the deficit to 24-6.

Unfortunately, the Bulldogs couldn't capitalize on a few opportunities down the stretch and the Bengals sealed the win.

Lewiston got its revenge after being dominated by Sandpoint 30-0 last year at War Memorial Field.

Larson finished with seven receptions for 129 yards and Pettit had 177 yards through the air.

"We just need to execute our jobs and get better," Knowles said. "When you play a 5A schedule, there's not much wiggle room. You're playing teams that are a lot bigger than you. We were fortunate to jump a Lewiston team last year and we got their best shot this year and that's the way it goes ... Losing is losing, it just sucks."

Sandpoint (1-3) heads to Lake City 7 p.m. next Friday. The Bulldogs beat the Timberwolves 20-15 on Sept. 11.

SHS 0 0 0 6 — 6

LHS 16 8 0 0 — 24

First quarter

LHS — Kash Lang 3 yard run (Lang Run)

LHS — Lang 1 yard run (Jace McKarcher run)

Second quarter

LHS — McKarcher 21 yard run (Lang pass to Brume)

Fourth quarter

SHS — Elijah Larson 24 yard pass from Pettit (pass fail)

SHS LHS

First Downs 12 13

Rushes-yds 26-5 49-170

Passing yds 177 66

QB 15-35 8-16

Interceptions 1 0

Punts-Ave. 3-31 3-27

Fumbles-Lost 2-2 0-0

Penalties 6-80 7-95

SHS Rushing: Pettit 8-(-15), Cox 11-7, Adams 1-(-2), Kappen 5-18, Sherrill 1-(-3)

SHS Receiving: Cox 3-23, Kappen 1-9, Thielbahr 4-18, Larson 7-129