Bishop Kelly football stomps another challenger. Knights one win away from state title

Earning the No. 1 seed in the 4A state playoffs means you get to host every game until the finals.

Bishop Kelly has taken full advantage.

The top-seeded Knights rolled past No. 4 Minico 33-15 in the 4A state semifinals on Friday night, extending their dominating march through the playoffs.

Bishop Kelly has outscored three postseason opponents 133-22 on its home turf. And all 22 points surrendered came in garbage time in the fourth quarter.

“We’re very fortunate to be able to host these playoff games because it’s nice to have friends, family and everyone in the stands cheering us on,” Bishop Kelly coach Tim Brennan said. “It’s a big family here, and it’s not just the players, but the whole community.”

The win sent Bishop Kelly (12-0) to the state championship for the first time since 2018. The Knights will face Skyline (9-3) for the 4A state title next week at Holt Arena in Pocatello. A kickoff time and date have not been announced yet.

Minico (10-2) posed the biggest threat to spoil the Knights’ party thus far, but Bishop Kelly running back Peter Minnaert quickly silenced the visitors with a pair of 4-yard touchdown runs in the first quarter.

Minico responded early in the second quarter with a drive to the Knights’ 8-yard line, but linebacker Luke Legarreta sacked Spartans quarterback Carson Wayment to force a turnover on downs.

Three plays later, BK quarterback Hadley Smith rolled to the left to find a wide-open Noah Bornes, and the receiver dashed by multiple defenders for a 73-yard touchdown.

“Hadley did a great job,” Brennan said. “When (Minico) starts bringing people up to stop the run, we’re able to throw the ball right where we want. And we’ve got some good receivers, so it was very fun.”

Smith added two more touchdown passes to Christian Welp to extend the lead to 33-0 in the third quarter. Smith finished 10-for-17 for 155 yards, three TDs and one interception.

“When you can balance your offense out, it’s really nice,” Smith said. “If the run game is working, that means the passing game is clicking, too. We just clicked tonight like we always do.”

Bornes finished with five catches for 100 yards and a TD. Welp added four catches for 58 yards and two TDs.

Minico could not keep up. Bishop Kelly’s defense racked up three sacks and forced the Spartans to punt on five of 10 possessions.

Spartans running back Jafeth Bendele erased the Knights’ shutout with an 11-yard score inside the final five minutes. And Wayment found Ryker Stimpson on an 11-yard TD pass on the ensuing drive just before time ran out.

Wayment finished 19-for-27 for 171 yards, one TD and one interception.

Now the Knights turn to the Grizzlies, the two-time defending 4A state champs. Bishop Kelly has lost its last two state finals appearances, including a 50-49 heartbreaker to Skyline in 2016.

Six years later, BK has a chance at redemption.

“It’s just another game (next week), so we just have to play the way we know how to play,” Smith said. “Skyline beat us a couple of years back, but we want revenge.”

GARDEN VALLEY FALLS IN SEMIS

Dietrich rolled to a 72-20 win over Garden Valley in the 1A Division II semifinals Friday night at Holt Arena. No details were reported.

Dietrich (11-0) will face the winner of Saturday’s game between Castleford (9-1) and Kendrick (10-0) for the title. The loss ended Garden Valley’s season at 9-2.

This story was originally published November 12, 2022 at 12:36 AM.