Hawks drop Senior Night to Sandpoint
October 11, 2022
A strong rivalry met at Corbit Field in Rathdrum, Idaho. The Lakeland Hawk’s football team fell to the Sandpoint Bulldogs on Oct. 7, 38-13. This defeat dropped the Hawks to a record of 6-2, while the Bulldogs improved to 3-3.
By the end of the first quarter, the Hawks led Sandpoint 7-3, allowing Lakeland fans to remain optimistic. Sandpoint lost a fumble in the first quarter. As the result of a successful quarterback sneak, Caysen Loutzenhiser scored the first touchdown for the Hawks.
The Hawks started falling behind after the second quarter ended, as they were down 17-7. Sandpoint scored three touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters combined, pulling away from their opponent. Lakeland did not score again until the fourth quarter when John Cornish had a 7-yard rush resulting in their final score.
Junior Roan Reilly said, “Our passing and running game both couldn’t get started, but our special teams did well. Gabe Means did really well at safety and made a lot of tackles.”
Overall, the Hawks ended with only 79 passing yards in total, but some players succeeded in running the ball. John Cornish had 156 rushing yards, keeping the ball moving consistently. Both Preston Jeffs and Carter Vanek made a positive impact throughout the game.
Similar to Reilly, Vanek said, “Despite our first drive, we fumbled the ball too much and struggled to complete passes. Our defensive players need to work hard this week and tough through the rest of the season.”
“Our main problem was our motor and the way we got off the ball, other than our good first drive. We are going to bounce back and what we showed isn’t the team we are,” said wide-out Ezra Benson.
In terms of rankings, the Lakeland Hawks have dropped slightly to the #7 spot in the Idaho 4A division. The Hawk’s next game will be against the Moscow Bears at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow on October 21st.
When asked about the current bye week, Benson said, “This week will help. We need a little rest and then some hard practice time to make us stronger and work out some things going into the playoffs. Anything less than domination against Moscow would be disappointing.”
Although the Bears have a record of 0-6, the outcome is unpredictable, as always.
This will mark the last matchup before playoffs begin. The playoff schedule for Lakeland is to be determined.
