Turnover-hungry defense keeps Nampa football in first place. Their reward? Free pizza
It was hard to tell what Nampa High linebacker Ethan Kincheloe was more excited about — his defensive touchdown or the pizza.
Kincheloe scored on a 40-yard fumble return in the first quarter, meaning he and his defensive teammates will cash in on some free pizza during Monday’s film session.
The Bulldog defense certainly earned its reward.
In addition to the scoop-and-score and two interceptions, Nampa pitched a second-half shutout for a 45-23 win over Kuna on Friday to maintain its half-game lead over Eagle and Mountain View atop the 5A Southern Idaho Conference’s River Division.
“Every time someone gets a pick or something, everyone yells ‘pizza’ so the defense knows to block. It’s something I really love,” Kincheloe said. “It’s something I’ve dreamed of for a long time. I play O-line and middle linebacker, so I don’t really get to touch the ball, like, ever. I pressed the football against the ground, I saw the quarterback I had to beat and there was no way I was getting tackled at all.”
Just to make sure there wasn’t any confusion, Kincheloe politely reminded Nampa coach Jon Choate — in the first year of his second stint with the program — of the Bulldogs’ tradition of pizza for a defensive touchdown.
“I’m gonna stick with tradition,” Choate said.
Nampa scored on its opening drive on senior running back Daniel Carrillo’s 16-yard run. It was the first of three touchdowns for Carrillo, who finished with 161 yards on 26 carries.
“I was feeling pretty great,” Carrillo. “I was really confident in our O-line and our whole team in general. We’ve got a good pass game going, too. It was just an amazing game overall.”
Kuna matched Nampa with a touchdown on its first drive of the game as Gus Austin punched it in from 3 yards out.
Kincheloe’s fumble return for a TD came next, and the Bulldogs and Kavemen each reached the end zone twice in the second quarter for a 28-23 Nampa lead at the half.
“I liked their resilience,” Choate said. “At halftime we made a few minor adjustments on the interior D-line and on the edge of the D-line. The fourth-down stops were obviously huge. We bent a little bit still in the second half, but we just didn’t break.”
Nampa earned three fourth-down stops in the second half and got the second of senior Leone Afamasaga’s two interceptions, setting up a 41-yard field goal by junior kicker Isaac Nordstrom. Afamasaga now has three interceptions in the last three games.
“I’m super proud of that kid, because he’s come a long way,” Choate said. “We installed a new defensive structure in the secondary over the summer, and he really struggled early on. ... So I’m really happy for him. It was awesome.”
While Carrillo led the Bulldogs on the ground, senior quarterback Gabe Navarro connected with senior receiver Dante Avjian on touchdowns passes of 60 and 75 yards. Navarro went 8-for-12 passing for 218 yards without an interception, and Avjian totaled five receptions for 192 yards.
Nampa’s win Friday sets up a first-place showdown in the 5A SIC River Division with Eagle next Friday. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Eagle’s Thunder Stadium.
“We’ve got a lot on our plate coming up,” Choate said. “I do think our schedule is somewhat favorable, but we took care of the business we needed to take care of, and it’s just one week at a time with us. I know there’s some really good teams on our horizon. Tomorrow after we put this one to bed, our focus is gonna be on Eagle.”
This story was originally published September 16, 2022 at 11:51 PM.
