Skyline outguns Bishop Kelly for 4A state title. How Grizz did what no one else could
Fans packed Holt Arena in Pocatello to watch Bishop Kelly’s state-leading defense take on two-time defending 4A champ Skyline.
They did not leave disappointed in a highlight-reel game, even though the Knights left disappointed after watching their undefeated season come to an end.
After a battle for three quarters, Skyline outscored BK 15-0 in the fourth quarter to earn a 50-35 victory and its third consecutive 4A title.
“That is a very well-coached football team,” Bishop Kelly (12-1) head coach Tim Brennan said. “They played hard and made plays, and we made a couple of mistakes, and one cost us points.”
Skyline (10-3) turned a back-and-forth game when it stripped a Bishop Kelly punt returner at the 5-yard line with 6:04 left in the third quarter. Skyline’s Kenyon Sadiq recovered the loose ball. And on the next snap, Abrahn Silverio scored from 5 yards out to give Skyline a 36-29 lead.
The Knights answered on the next drive, when Peter Minnaert scored on a 4-yard run. But Skyline blocked the extra point and then held the Knights scoreless for the final 14 minutes to finally pull away.
Silverio scored twice in the fourth quarter, once from 51 yards and then again from 11 yards out with 3:23 left to seal the victory. He finished the night running for 123 yards and five touchdowns, setting a 4A championship game record for TDs and points scored (32).
“They didn’t do anything we hadn’t seen before,” Brennan said. “They just executed what they do very well.”
A wild third quarter saw Bishop Kelly and Skyline combine for 30 points in its first 2 minutes, 46 seconds. Bishop Kelly’s Cole Miller bobbled the half’s opening kickoff before weaving his way through the Grizzlies for a 96-yard kick-return touchdown. But on the next scrimmage play, Skyline’s Lachlan Haacke hit Sadiq for a 54-yard touchdown pass to tie the score at 22.
Skyline recovered the ensuing onside kick. Five plays later, Silverio punched in the first of his four second-half touchdowns from 1 yard out.
Zach Jacobs answered for the Knights with a 20-yard touchdown run, but the fumbled punt finally gave Skyline a lead it would never relinquish.
Haacke finished the game 13-of-16 passing for 269 yards and two touchdowns. Sadiq, an Oregon commit, added six catches for 130 yards and a touchdown.
Bishop Kelly was led by Minnaert, who ran for 175 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. Jacobs added 42 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries.
“We had a great season, and I am so proud of these men,” Brennan said. “They are great players and even better human beings. It’s disappointing not to win it all, but we have nothing to hang our heads about.”
This story was originally published November 19, 2022 at 1:56 AM.
