Behind ‘exceptional’ running back, 5 takeaways, Bishop Kelly returns to state title game
When Peter Minnaert has the football in his hands, magical things happen.
The Bishop Kelly senior running back rushed for 168 yards and three touchdowns, and the BK defense produced five turnovers to carry the Knights to a 28-18 victory over Pocatello on Friday in the semifinals of the 4A state playoffs.
It was the Knights’ 20th straight home victory and sends them to the state championship game for the second year in a row. Bishop Kelly (12-0) will take on Hillcrest (12-0), a 35-31 winner over three-time defending state champion Skyline, at 7 p.m. Friday at Boise State’s Albertsons Stadium.
“He’s awesome. He’s exceptional, and he’s a great young man, too,” Bishop Kelly coach Chris Culig said of Minnaert. “He’s not just a football player, so that even makes it better. He works really hard, and he’s as good a running back as I’ve ever been around.”
Bishop Kelly went three-and-out on its opening possession as the Thunder bottled up Minnaert on his first two touches. But there was no stopping the 6-foot, 200-pound cannon ball after that.
Minnaert closed out the first quarter with an 18-yard run, putting the Knights on the Pocatello 20-yard line. Three plays later, Minnaert jump-cut his way to the end zone on a 13-yard run for a 7-3 Bishop Kelly lead.
He added a 5-yard TD run 53.4 seconds before halftime, and made it 21-3 Bishop Kelly when he leaped over the pile for a 1-yard score with 8:47 left in the third quarter.
Minnaert, who entered the game leading the 4A classification in rushing yards per game (135), yards per carry (11.7) and rushing touchdowns (24), finished with 28 carries without a single negative-yardage play.
“I’ve been focusing on the fundamentals ever since I was little,” Minnaert said. “I didn’t start playing football until I was really in eighth grade. That was my first official year of tackle football. But I’ve just done what the coach has been telling me and doing work on my own. But I have a heck of an offensive line, so all credit to them. They make me look a lot better than I really am.”
While Minnaert was churning his way through the Pocatello defense, Bishop Kelly’s defensive unit came up with timely play after timely play.
The Knights intercepted Pocatello senior quarterback Dreyson Contreras four times. BK junior linebacker Markus Powers grabbed two of those interceptions, junior Cole Traverso had one, and senior defensive back Noah Nienhouse returned his pick 40 yards to the house near the end of the third quarter.
Senior linebacker Maddox Rawson accounted for the fifth takeaway with a fumble recovery on Pocatello’s first drive of the second half.
“I was pretty surprised, because a pick-six isn’t something you get every day,” Nienhouse said. “I was super happy.”
Bishop Kelly is chasing its first state title since winning three straight from 2013-15. The Knights fell 50-35 to Skyline in last year’s championship game, but are hoping for a different outcome in 2023.
“I want to put it all out on the line, and I think I’m speaking for everybody on our team,” Nienhouse said. “Most of the seniors here played in that state championship, and we all know how bad it feels to lose, so we’re gonna go out and put it all on the line. We’re not going to let our senior year go out that way. We’re not going to lose.”
This story was originally published November 10, 2023 at 5:37 PM.
