Sandpoint 47, Lake City 27

SANDPOINT — Sandpoint gave their homecoming crowd plenty to cheer about Friday night at War Memorial Field.

Junior Brock Yarbrough returned not one, but two interceptions for 100-plus yard-touchdowns, senior quarterback Braden Buckhout accounted for 236 total yards and four total touchdowns, and the Bulldogs quieted the hullabaloo with a 20-point victory over the Timberwolves in a 6A/5A Inland Empire League showdown.

It was all Sandpoint from the very first play.

Just 15 seconds into the game, Buckhout found senior Maverick Gomez for a 66-yard receiving touchdown to put the Bulldogs up 6-0 early. After the defense forced a three-and-out on Lake City's opening drive, Yarbrough tacked on a 31-yard field goal to push the lead to nine points, which stood until the end of the first.

In the second, Buckhout, who completed 13 of his 19 passes for 190 yards on the night, made his way out of the pocket and just inside the left pylon for a 16-yard touchdown run and the 16-0 advantage. 

However, the Timberwolves came to play.

Lake City High senior Brayden Van Leuven, who rushed 24 times for a game-high 136 yards, found paydirt to cut the lead to 16-7. Yarbrough responded with a 21-yard field goal on Sandpoint's next drive — his seventh three-point try of the year in as many attempts — to push the Bulldog advantage back to 12 points.

With time winding down in the second, the Timberwolves were once again threatening on the Bulldogs' 15-yard line, but jack-of-all-trades Yarbrough was there to deny Lake City a chance when he returned an interception 101 yards for a touchdown to give Sandpoint a 26-7 lead heading into the locker room.

The touchdown by Yarbrough was especially crucial considering Lake City was set to receive the second-half kickoff.

"That's a 14-point swing," Sandpoint High head coach Ryan Knowles said. "He just hopped out of the storm and made his way into the endzone... He does everything for us, so much, on both sides of the ball. I cannot imagine a much more productive kid. No. 10 is certainly making a name for himself."

And Yarbrough continued to make a name for himself throughout the night.

On the opening third quarter drive by the Timberwolves, Yarbrough forced a 5-yard sack on second down and senior Roman Turnbull found the opposing quarterback for a 10-yard loss on third down, taking Lake City all the way back to the Bulldog 20-yard line, where they eventually missed on a 37-yard field goal try. Despite the effort, Sandpoint couldn't capitalize and Lake City found the endzone again with 4:27 left in the quarter to put the score at 26-14.

About three minutes later, Sandpoint responded with another drive of their own as Yarbrough, who had six catches for 83 receiving yards, jumped up high over two defenders in the left corner of the endzone on a perfectly placed pass by Buckhout for a 16-yard receiving touchdown and the 33-14 lead.

In the fourth, Lake City answered again, but so did Buckhout on a 5-yard touchdown run and Yarbrough with his second 101-yard interception return for a touchdown as the Bulldogs got out to a 27-point lead — their largest of the night — with three minutes remaining in regulation, eventually holding on for the win.

"Lake City is a 6A school, they're bigger than us, and they're well-coached," coach Knowles added. "To get a 20-point win after losing to them last year is a fantastic representation of our motto 'raising the bar'. We've taken steps from last year and this is just another one."

Sandpoint, in addition to their two defensive touchdowns, totaled 371 yards of offense on the night. Junior running back Jensen Sheetz had 114 rushing yards on 24 carries for the Bulldogs in the victory — his fourth 100-plus yard rushing effort of the season. Gomez eclipsed 1,000 career receiving yards in the winning effort with his five catches for a team-high 90 yards. As for Buckhout, he now has 2,840 total yards and 25 total touchdowns across his entire varsity career.

"I was really happy with the offense; we seemed to be running the ball well, chewing up the clock, and staying on schedule," coach Knowles said. "The big plays are always an option for our offense as we have some very explosive players. Braden Buckhout is doing a great job of mixing in the run with his scrambles, his passes... just really happy with the balance and how he orchestrates all the parts of our offense."

Juniors Damian Porter and Mason McLain both added tackles for losses on defense for Sandpoint (6-1), which travels to Lewiston on Friday, Oct. 10, for their first 5A Inland Empire League matchup of the season.

"It will be a tough trip to Lewiston, going up against a proud Lewiston program whose record is certainly not reflective of how good of football they're playing down there," coach Knowles said. "We'll prepare accordingly and hopefully continue to travel well."

Lake City 0 7 7 13 — 27

Sandpoint 9 17 7 14 — 47

1st quarter

SPT — Maverick Gomez 66 pass from Braden Buckhout (conversion failed), 11:45

SPT — Brock Yarbrough 31-yard FG, 6:41

2nd quarter

SPT — Braden Buckhout 16 run (Brock Yarbrough kick), 11:24

LC — Brayden Van Leuven 12 run (Caden Oxenrider kick), 9:16

SPT — Brock Yarbrough 21-yard FG, 4:38

SPT — Brock Yarbrough 101-yard INT return (Brock Yarbrough kick), 1:03

3rd quarter

LC — Landon Leveque 35 pass from Britton Johnston (Caden Oxenrider kick), 4:27

SPT — Brock Yarbrough 16 pass from Braden Buckhout (Brock Yarbrough kick), 1:30

4th quarter

LC — Landon Leveque 35 pass from Britton Johnston (kick blocked), 10:22

SPT — Braden Buckhout 5 run (Brock Yarbrough kick), 6:46

SPT — Brock Yarbrough 101-yard INT return (Brock Yarbrough kick), 3:00

LC — Britton Johnston 57 run (Caden Oxenrider kick), 1:39

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

SPT — Sheetz 24-114, Buckhout 9-46, Yarbrough 2-22, Palmer 1-2, Gomez 1-(-3). LC — Van Leuven 24-136, Johnston 11-100.

PASSING

SPT — Buckhout 13-19-2-190. LC — Johnston 11-20-2-210.

RECEIVING

SPT — Gomez 5-90, Yarbrough 6-83, Sheetz 1-10, Schriber 1-7. LC — Leveque 6-107, Hill 4-55, Beamesderfer 1-48.

    Sandpoint High senior Maverick Gomez breaks free for a 66-yard receiving touchdown on the game's opening play.