Hillcrest runs over BK, sets all-class rushing record en route to 4A state football title

Hillcrest quarterback Kyle Austin had a pretty simple explanation for the Knights’ record-setting Saturday on the blue turf of Albertsons Stadium.

“We’ve just got playmakers and a line,” Austin said.

Those playmakers and that offensive line did unprecedented damage, matching the classification record for points and setting the all-classification record for rushing yards in Hillcrest’s 55-21 victory over Bishop Kelly in the 4A state championship game.

The Knights of Idaho Falls ran for 580 total yards, besting the previous 11-man record of 472 (Kamiah, 2000) and 8-man record of 509 (Kendrick, 2000). Their 599 yards of offense also was a 4A classification record.

“We just like being physical, and I think most of the teams struggled with our physicalness on both sides,” Hillcrest coach Kevin Meyer said. “When you go against each other all the time, we just got better and better and better.”

The 55 points are the most an opponent has scored on Bishop Kelly since 1999. And the 34-point loss is Bishop Kelly’s worst since 1996.

Seniors Austin (18 carries, 216 yards), Oakley Hussey (15-175) and Trae Henry (11-202) pounded Bishop Kelly from Hillcrest’s opening possession. It took just four plays and less than 2 minutes for Hillcrest’s first score, which came on a 36-yard run from Hussey with 8:52 on the clock in the first quarter.

Hussey and Henry each ran for three touchdowns in the game, and Austin added scoring runs of 70 and 85 yards. Austin’s 85-yard TD dash with 6:19 left in the second quarter established a new class record for longest run from scrimmage for a touchdown.

“I’m just beyond grateful to do this with my teammates,” Austin said. “I love each and every one of these guys. It’s hard to describe this feeling right now.

“I’m so excited. This was the goal all along, and it’s good to finally reach it.”

Hillcrest scored on its first six drives and had 405 rushing yards and a 42-14 lead by halftime. The Knights of Idaho Falls only attempted two passes the entire game.

“They’re a very, very good football team,” Bishop Kelly coach Tim Brennan said. “They dominated the first half, and we couldn’t stop them.”

After losing in Week 2 to Madison, a 5A playoff team, Hillcrest (12-1) finished the season with 11 straight wins to claim just the second state title in program history and the first since 2008. The Knights did so despite losing senior running back Jordan Neuerburg to a knee injury in the fifth game of the year.

When Neuerburg went down, Hussey was moved from receiver to running back.

“The kids really believed in what we were doing,” Meyer said. “We made adjustments during the year when Jordan got hurt and just did what we had to do.”

Bishop Kelly (10-2), which was playing in its fifth title game in six years, came up empty on its first three possessions and fell behind 21-0 before it finally got on the scoreboard. Ian Arellano ran 34 yards for a score to make it 21-7 with 11:22 to go in the second quarter, but Hillcrest answered right back.

BK’s next drive ended with a fumble on third-and-8 from the Hillcrest 13-yard line, and Bishop Kelly’s offense did its defense no favors at the start of the second half. The BK defense got two stops to open the third quarter, but after each stop the offense gave it right back with an interception.

“No disrespect to any team we’ve ever played, but we always said it was about us executing and about us doing what we’re supposed to do,” Meyer said. “If we did that, we were going to be pretty hard to beat.”

First quarter

HIL — Oakley Hussey 36 run (Gutama Haws kick), 8:52

HIL — Hussey 10 run (Haws kick), 1:38

Second quarter

HIL — Kyle Austin 70 run (Haws kick), 11:49

BK — Ian Arellano 34 run (Jackson Stingley kick), 11:22

HIL — Trae Henry 51 run (Haws kick), 9:53

HIL — Austin 85 run (Haws kick), 6:19

BK — Mike Stone 23 pass from Beau Nelson (Stingley kick), 2:48

HIL — Hussey 1 run (Haws kick), :08

Third quarter

HIL — Henry 66 run (kick failed), 2:39

Fourth quarter

HIL — Henry 13 run (Aiden Zundel kick), 10:29

BK — Matt Heffner 11 pass from Brady King (Stingley kick), 1:14

Individual leaders

RUSHING — Hillcrest: Austin 18-216, Hussey 15-175, Henry 11-202, Kanon Young 1-4, Tre Kofe 2-4, Seth Curtis 1-(-2). BK: Arellano 12-102, Jackson Huskey 10-5, Thomas Rizzo 2-4, King 9-33, Dan Marlow 1-(-1).

PASSING — Hillcrest: Austin 1-2-0 29. BK: Beau Nelson 7-16-1 93, King 6-11-0 87, Keegan Croteau 1-1-0 19, Arellano 0-1-1 0.

RECEIVING — Hillcrest: Hussey 1-29. BK: Heffner 5-68, Jackson Lightner 4-51, Marlow 2-30, Arellano 1-8, Nelson 1-19, Mike Stone 1-23.

This story was originally published November 17, 2018 at 7:24 PM.