Sandpoint 28, Minico 24

RUPERT — These road warriors just have a knack for finding a way to win as the visiting team.

Junior Damian Porter got the party started with a 15-yard interception return for a touchdown, juniors Brock Yarbrough and Jensen Sheetz combined for 292 of Sandpoint's 343 total yards of offense, and the No. 11 Bulldogs upset the No. 6 Spartans in 5A State Championship first-round playoff action on Friday night at Bill Matthews Field.

After another long bus ride — 620 miles one way to be exact — the Bulldogs were off to a shaky start, but so were the Spartans, as each team traded multiple three-and-outs in a scoreless first quarter. Early in the second, after pinning Minico deep in their own territory, Porter was in the right place at the right time as he hauled in his first career interception for the pick-six and a 7-0 lead.

Minico, which was pinned inside their own 20 on four separate occasions across the first two quarters, found a groove and were threatening at the Bulldogs' 16-yard line with just over one-and-a-half minutes remaining until intermission. On a 4th-and-1 play, junior Trey Blumenberg hit the opposing running back in the backfield for a 4-yard loss to force a turnover on downs. Sandpoint then put together an 80-yard drive, one in which Yarbrough, who had a game-high 12 receptions for a team-high 137 receiving yards, accounted for nearly every yard of. The all-around star, on a 4th-and-9 with eight seconds on the clock, hauled in a 31-yard pass from senior quarterback Braden Buckhout for the 14-0 advantage.

The Sandpoint defense limited Minico to just 36 total yards of offense and recorded six of their seven tackles for losses in the first half.

"We were getting some great punts that were giving us some great field position, defensively," Sandpoint High head coach Ryan Knowles said. "The defense was playing like we practiced all week, steady-eddy, and were showing up and making plays. They had a few wrinkles that they haven't shown, and we were adjusting. Our defense did good staying level and doing their job. Damian's pick-six to break it open was just awesome, a great play, and we were all really excited for that."

After the locker room break, Minico regrouped, and on their opening possession, capitalized on good field position with a 26-yard receiving touchdown to cut the deficit to eight points. After another lapse in scoring, and with 3:31 remaining in the third, Yarbrough delivered a big hit on an opposing receiver to force a fumble that he scooped up and returned 20 yards to give Sandpoint a drive starting on the Spartans' 15-yard line. The drive was eventually capped off by Sheetz, who carried the ball a career-high 38 times for a career-high 155 rushing yards, via a 1-yard run as the Bulldogs went ahead 21-6 with one quarter of play remaining. 

Blumenberg was able to put the ball back in the Bulldogs' hands before the end of the quarter when he came away with his second interception of the season that stalled a Minico drive.

"The interception by Trey was just a really amazing play; he's long-bodied, tall, and long-armed, and he used all of it and went up and snatched that ball right out of the air, right in front of our sideline," coach Knowles added. "Brock's hit on their tight end over the middle as well... those plays in a four-point game are surely difference makers."

The Spartans, which ran a run-pass-option style offense, were pesky and needed only two plays to get back into the contest, scoring on a 93-yard pass and a 67-yard run over the span of two-and-a-half minutes to trail just 21-18 with 7:03 to go in regulation.

Sandpoint, aided by some patience and penalties, then drained nearly five minutes off the clock and junior Jack Schriber collected an 8-yard receiving touchdown in the back corner of the endzone on a dime from Buckhout, on a 4th-and-7 nonetheless, to put the proverbial dagger in things. Minico responded with just over a minute remaining, but it was too little too late as the Bulldogs held on for their fifth road win of the season and their eighth overall.

"Minico's a good program, they win a lot of games," coach Knowles said of the high school located in Rupert that finished their season with a record of 6-4. "You just felt like they were always there. It was just one of those games where we were correcting a lot of stuff on the sideline and were moving some players around. There were some frustrating points, but at the end of the day, I look at my offensive coordinator George Yarno... we know it's not going to be perfect, but we're going to figure out — and we sure did. To win on the road, especially down here, read between the lines on that one."

Buckhout was 17-for-27 passing for 175 yards and two scores, Sheetz reached north of 1,000 career rushing yards with his performance, and seniors Jeremiah Palmer, Roman Turnbull, Jeven Meyer, Darrin Flanigan and Owen Hughes all had tackles for losses on the night for Sandpoint (8-2), which will travel to No. 3 Skyline (8-2) this upcoming week for 5A State Championship quarterfinals action. The Grizzlies defeated No. 14 Bonneville by a score of 42-21 in their opener.

"We're essentially going to be making the same exact trip next Thursday," coach Knowles noted of the ensuing journey to Idaho Falls, where Skyline plays their home playoff games at Idaho State University's ICCU Dome. "We have a deep history with Skyline. It's going to be a brawl. I'm sure coach (Scott) Berger has them dialed in and ready to go, so we'll come down there and give them some Bulldog football."

Sandpoint 0 14 7 7 — 28

Minico 0 0 6 18 — 24

2nd quarter

SPT — Damian Porter 15-yard INT return (Brock Yarbrough kick), 8:29

SPT — Brock Yarbrough 31 pass from Braden Buckhout (Brock Yarbrough kick), 0:08

3rd quarter

MIN — Jaiden Sanders 26 pass from Dax Hartley (kick no good), 9:28

SPT — Jensen Sheetz 1 run (Brock Yarbrough kick), 2:55

4th quarter

MIN — Jaiden Sanders 93 pass from Dax Hartley (kick no good), 9:31

MIN — Brenden Heward 67 run (conversion failed), 7:03

SPT — Jack Schriber 8 pass from Braden Buckhout (Brock Yarbrough kick), 2:39

MIN — Ethan Heward 6 pass from Dax Hartley (conversion failed), 1:16

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

SPT — Sheetz 38-155, Palmer 2-8, Buckhout 13-3, Gomez 2-2. MIN — Team 27-100.

PASSING

SPT — Buckhout 17-27-2-175. MIN — Team 17-27-3-238.

RECEIVING 

SPT — Yarbrough 12-137, Schriber 2-22, Resso 1-10, Gomez 2-6. MIN — Team 17-238.