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Varsity Football Coaches
Mike Mitchell ,Head Football Coach & Offensive Coordinator
2009 Spokesmen Review North Idaho Coach of the Year
2009 Idaho District 1 Coach of the Year
2009 Inland Empire 4A Coach of the Year
2008 Inland Empire 4A Co-Coach of the Year
2006 Inland Empire 4A Coach of the Year
Winning is the expectation of Sandpoint Football and that translates into championships. The Bulldogs have won three championships in the last four years under Coach Mitchell and are one point away from being four for four. They lost in 2007 to Lakeland 27-26 or they would be four for 4. "When we line up in the fall - we expect to win the conference championship." Said Coach Mitchell.
Winning is certainly not new to Coach Mitchell, before coming to Sandpoint, Mitchell took DeAnza College to their first championship in fifteen years in the year 2003. Prior to that, he served as the Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator at Humbuldt State University in Arcata, CA. There he was instrumental in helping the "Jacks" win their only back to back Championship in 1994 and 1995. In 1994 they were 8-1 and in 1995 they were 8-1-1. During this fourteen year run his offense broke 54 school records.
Mitchell is also the first Oregon prep coach to take teams to the Oregon Play-offs from three different leagues. This past season,the bulldogs went all the way to the State Championship Final and lost in a thriller to Blackfoot High School 29-23. It was an exciting play-off run and the Bulldogs averaged 30 points per game on offense and only gave up 9 points per game on defense.
Mike is married to Gail Ann and they have six children.
Casey McLaughlin - Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator
Casey has been elevated to Defensive Coordinator and Assistant Head Football Coach of the football program. Casey has been with the Dogs for ten years and was ready to assume this major role for the Bulldogs. He coaches the secondary and has been very instrumental in many of the fundraising activities in his role as Assistant Head Coach in the past three seasons.
The defense excelled in 2009 and Casey's work ethic showed in the way the defense played. Opponents were held to 9 points per game and the defense became known for flying around and being aggressive. Under Casey's direction we truly became a team concept defense and we had alot of people in on alot of tackles. That has been the goal of the Bulldogs from day one.
Casey is married to Alyssa and they have 3 children.
Brian Smith - Linebacker Coach
Brian is a long time standing Coach on the Sandpoint Staff and served as the defensive coordinator under the previous staff and Coach Mitchell's Staff in 2006. That was an IEL 4A Championship year. Brian's experience is invaluable and he is an excellent Linebacker Coach for the Bulldogs and will continue in that role. Brian has major input each week into the defensive game plan and is a real student of the game.
Brian played his college football at the University of Idaho and was on one of the most successful teams in Idaho's football history. They went all the way to the Humanitarian Bowl and played Southern Mississippi University.
Brian is married to Jenny and they have two children.
Derek Dickinson - Running Back Coach
Derek coaches the running backs for the Bulldogs. The past few years we have had some great running backs and Derek deserves a great deal of credit for developing these guys and getting them to reach their potential. He pays attention to detail and gets his group ready to play each week. Derek also serves as the head girls Softball coach at Sandpoint. He pushes his charges hard and demands discipline from them.
In 2009 we had two of Derek's charges that were 1,000 yard rushers and that is unusual on a high school team. As recruiting season winds down it appears both Cody Hecker and Ben Fisher will receive grants to continue playing at the College level.
Derek is married to Ann and they have two children.
Troy Holt - Offensive Line Coach
Troy served as the JV football coach in 2006 and 2007 then was moved up to offensive line coach. He did an outstanding job in 2008 and 2009 was the frosting on the cake for Troy's work . Troy is a task master and makes his guys grow each week. They get better and you can see the improvement as each and every game unfolds. He takes great pride in how the offensive line performs and it is this pride that has made us become the threat on the ground that we have become. During the 2009 play-off run we had four games in a row with 300 yards rushing. That is unheard of in high school football.
Troy teaches physical education at the Middle School and is married to Tammy. They have two children.
Jake Plummer - Quarterbacks
The ten year veteran of the NFL is no stranger to local football fans. Coach Mitchell is excited to see Coach Plummer enter the coaching ranks and is thrilled that Jake has said he will be willing to help our with the football squad when he is available. His experience will be an invaluable asset to our program. He brings instant credibility to the program and he is certainly a man who knows how to contribute to winning.
Jake Plummer played at Arizona State and was known nationally as Jake "the Snake". Jake enjoyed a very successful NFL career, he took the cardinals to the play-offs before he moved to the Denver Broncos where he established great offensive numbers. Jake warms up his arm once in awhile and throws 7 on 7 for the Bulldogs and one can easily see he is not very removed from the game. He can still put some zip on the ball and it helps the Bulldog secondary to see the "real thing."
Jake is married to Collette. She is the dance instructor for the Sandpoint Middle School Dance Team.
Matt Smith - Defensive Line Coach
This is Matts fifth year of coaching for Sandpoint. He was last years JV head coach and this year he was moved to varsity defensive line. He was a member of the 1997 state championship team and played ball at the University of Idaho.
Matt is an emotional coach and really gets after his charges. Matt is seeking an elementary teaching position and we are pleased to have him on our staff at Sandpoint. His guys had alot to do with the success of the 2009 Dawgs.
Mike Givens
Mike rejoins the Bulldog coaching staff after taking two years off for business reasons. Mike was the Frosh head coach in 2006 and did a great job at lending our freshmen team. Mike will coach at the Junior Varsity level and does a great job with our younger players. He teaches life skills along with football skills and that is very important at this level
Mike also keeps active with the youth football league and has been instrumental in the development of that program. Fans will remember Mike as the baseball coach who won the state championship in baseball. He has taken a break from baseball but has high energy for the JV football program.
John Ketchum - Head Frosh Coach
Pat Talarizadeh
Damien Gooding
Jeremy Harris