‘I wanted it for them.’ Bishop Kelly’s season comes down to two-point conversion
Lined up for the potential game-winning two-point conversion, the snap bounced off the shins of Skyline star Zyan Crockett.
As Crockett corralled the football, the Bishop Kelly defense swarmed in to tackle him.
The stop preserved the Knights’ one-point lead, but they’d need a first down to seal the victory with 1:19 on the clock in the fourth quarter and the Grizzlies still in possession of two timeouts.
Senior running back Ryan Arellano delivered that first down, barrelling 11 yards on third-and-9 from the Skyline 45 for a 21-20 win in the 5A state semifinals Friday night at Bishop Kelly High.
The Knights (12-0) will play defending champion Hillcrest (11-1) for the state title on Monday, Nov. 24, at 7 p.m. at Albertsons Stadium. That date was chosen because Boise State has a home game next Saturday against Colorado State, with that game time still to be determined.
“It means everything. That’s what we’ve been working for, for four years straight,” Bishop Kelly senior defensive back Bryce Root said. “Back sophomore year, we played in the state championship. And so coming back here, it means the world.
“When we stepped in that weight room this winter, we said we’re winning it this year. We’re coming to play.”
Bishop Kelly entered Friday’s semifinal averaging an 11-man best 45.1 points per game, and it looked as though the Knights would walk away with yet another blowout win after racing out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
But penalties and a pair of second-half turnovers resulted in a 14-14 tie through three quarters.
“We just kept letting them stay in the game. We made mistakes,” Bishop Kelly coach Chris Culig said. “Penalties, turnovers, dropped balls. Just little things. And all week we harped on little things. But we kept battling.
“So I’m super proud of the fact that we just battled and managed to come up with a play at the very end there.”
Senior receiver Dom Wolthuis put Bishop Kelly ahead 21-14 with a 4-yard touchdown catch — his third of the night — from senior quarterback Ben Avella with 6:29 left in the game.
Wolthuis finished with seven receptions for 115 yards, and Avella was 10-for-17 passing for 133 yards and three TDs with one interception.
Arellano totaled 87 yards on 15 carries as the Knights outgained the Grizzlies 251 to 177.
“Football is all about just the flow of a game, right?” Wolthuis said. “So you can’t get too high or too low. I think as a team, we did really good staying even-keel, and we just pulled out with the ‘W.’ That’s all that matters.”
After Bishop Kelly’s go-ahead score, Skyline responded with a nine-play, 68-yard drive, topped off by a 19-yard touchdown run from Crockett.
The reigning first-team all-state receiver had 1,542 total yards and 21 TDs going into the matchup, but the Knights limited Crockett to 38 rushing yards and just two receptions for 11 yards.
The touchdown pulled Skyline within 21-20 with 1:19 left, and Grizzlies coach Scott Berger decided to go for the lead rather than the tie.
The gamble didn’t pay off.
“The team camaraderie has just been awesome,” Culig said. “I’m super proud for them. I told them, ‘You guys deserve this. You’ve done everything right.’ I’ve seen enough of them in my career that I know you’ve done it all right. I wanted it for them.”
This story was originally published November 14, 2025 at 11:00 PM.
