Forget the tragedy. Homedale writes a new story for 4A football state title
Over the past decade, the story for the Homedale football team became repetitive.
The Trojans contended for a state championship each fall, emerging as one of the state’s top programs in their classification. But they could never find a way to bring home the trophy, losing in five title games the past seven years.
That story finally changed Saturday as Homedale pulled out a 29-21 over Kimberly in the 4A championship game at Pocatello’s ICCU Dome, capturing the program’s first state title in 28 years.
“New team, new people. We just wanted to write our own story,” said Homedale junior receiver Alec Campos, who hauled in eight passes for 153 yards and three touchdowns.
That story began with a familiar shaky start Saturday. The Trojans’ offense sputtered on its first three drives, punting twice and turning the ball over on downs. But a trick play finally provided Homedale (11-1) the spark it needed.
A shanked punt set the Trojans up at Kimberly’s 40-yard line. And sensing blood in the water, Homedale dialed up a reverse pass for senior Lukas Hall, who delivered a pinpoint 40-yard touchdown throw to Campos to put Homedale on the board.
“Lukas Hall, he’s an athlete,” Homedale coach Matt Holtry said. “He’s a punter. He’s a kicker. He’s a defensive end. He’s a tight end. And he can throw the ball. I mean, the guy’s a freak athlete.”
The long touchdown pass became a recurring theme in Saturday’s championship story as Kimberly (8-4) loaded the box to slow Homedale’s running game. It worked, holding the Trojans to 97 rushing yards at 3.5 yards per carry. But as the safeties crept to 9, 8 and even 7 yards within the line of scrimmage, Homedale spotted an opportunity and turned to Campos.
The junior hauled in touchdowns of 40, 43 and 41 yards for backbreaking scores. He often found a safety running stride-for-stride with him, but senior quarterback Xavier Uranga delivered dimes only he could catch, and Campos came down with them each time.
“Alec is just a great receiver,” Uranga said. “Sometimes I just threw it up to him, hoping he’d catch it. And he did. So he kind of saved us there. I’m so thankful for him.”
Uranga started the afternoon 2-for-6 for 11 yards. But he settled in to finish 17-for-31 for 220 yards and three scores, including a 19-yard touchdown to Alejandro Martinez on just his fourth catch of the season.
The son of Homedale offensive coordinator Darren Uranga, Xavier Uranga owned a front-row seat for all the Trojans’ previous wrenching losses. Homedale has reached the semifinals nine years in a row. But Sugar-Salem stood as the Trojans’ Achilles’ heel, ending their season six of the past seven seasons, including five times in the championship game.
Homedale finally exorcised that demon with a 30-20 victory in Pocatello last week. But the journey remained incomplete until the Trojans hoisted a championship banner Saturday.
“I was at every game that we lost in the state championship since fifth, sixth grade,” Xavier Uranga said. “And this is the best feeling, right now, I’ve ever felt.”
Homedale’s defense also rose to the challenge Saturday. Kimberly star quarterback MacRaye Bruning accounted for 193 total yards and all three touchdowns. But he completed only 10-of-22 passes as Homedale pressured him all afternoon, finishing with five sacks.
Previous Homedale squads may have fielded bigger, stronger and faster athletes. But Holtry praised the Trojans’ football IQ as a difference maker.
“I’ll be honest, going into this year, we weren’t sure what kind of team we were going to have,” Holtry said. “We lost a lot of starters on the offensive line. But that experience paid off. It did. It truly did.”
A ninth state title restores Homedale’s place as one of Idaho’s most decorated football programs. The Trojans previously dominated what’s now called the 3A classification in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s. But Saturday marked their first championship at the 4A level, and it moved Homedale into a tie with Carey and Skyline for the fourth most titles since the IHSAA playoffs began in 1977.
Only Highland (12), Snake River (10) and West Side (10) own more state championships from the IHSAA-sanctioned playoffs.
This story was originally published November 22, 2025 at 8:38 PM.
