Sandpoint 9, Bonners Ferry 0

SANDPOINT — Senior Huxley Hall and sophomore Hugo GilRuiz both tallied hat tricks as the Bulldogs blanked the Badgers in a non-league game held Thursday at War Memorial Field.

Hall put Sandpoint on the board during the second minute and again during the 10th minute on through balls assisted by sophomore Dixon Reed and sophomore Pax Longanecker, respectively. GilRuiz, off a pass from Reed, showed off his shifty footwork and sent a 25-yard shot into the top right corner of the net from the opposite side of the field to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 advantage heading into intermission.

During the 46th minute, Longanecker established great position in the box and headed in a corner kick from senior Logan McGrann to start the second half's scoring. Sophomore Alvaro Santos then tapped in a ball that rebounded off the left post to give Sandpoint a 5-0 lead by the time the 55th minute rolled around.

In the 60th minute, Reed, after two first-half assists, got on the board with a goal his own. Senior Travis Morgan registered the assist after tracking down a ball that was set to go out the back, somehow redirecting it into the box for a waiting Reed. GilRuiz then scored on a couple of second efforts during the 67th and 79th minutes, both assisted by senior Asher Hazan, and Hall nailed a penalty kick into the lower right-hand side of the net during the 70th minute to propel Sandpoint to the 9-0 victory.

"The reason we were able to score and pass so well tonight is because our spacing was figured out," Sandpoint High head coach Dan Anderson said. "We're spreading the field wide when we have it... after the spacing comes moving off the ball for your teammates, such as the selfless runs you make even when you don't get the ball. They're really starting to figure that out."

Anderson said while his offense was efficient, his defense was equally so against a Bonners Ferry team that is bound to make some noise in 4A this season.

"I thought Caiden (Gion) and Isaac (Schmit) were solid at center back," coach Anderson said. "That's a good Bonners Ferry team. I realize that's a 9-0 game, but they were physical, technical — they're going to be really good this season. For Caiden and Isaac to play as well as they did and shut them down, that's just a phenomenal job from those two."

Junior goalkeeper Landon Brinkmeier had four saves for Sandpoint (3-0), which will look to extend their winning streak to four games when Stillwater Christian of Kalispell comes to town on Friday.

First half — 1, SPT, Huxley Hall (Dixon Reed), 2'. 2, Huxley Hall (Pax Longanecker), 10'. 3, Hugo GilRuiz (Dixon Reed), 40'. Second half — 4, SPT, Pax Longanecker (Logan McGrann), 46'. 5, SPT, Alvaro Santos (unassisted), 55'. 6, SPT, Dixon Reed (Travis Morgan), 60'. 7, Hugo GilRuiz (Asher Hazan), 67'. 8, SPT, Huxley Hall, 70'. 9, SPT, Hugo GilRuiz (Asher Hazan), 79'.

Shots on goal — Sandpoint 24. Bonners Ferry 4.

Saves — Sandpoint, Landon Brinkmeier, 4. Bonners Ferry, Kordale Burt, 9; Cardon Pluid 6.