Kendrick wins third consecutive Idaho 8-man state football title in another 'dominant' showing
Kendrick was 4-of-10 on two-point conversions.
That’s the only critique, better yet nitpick of arguably the most dominant performance by a team in a state final game in Idaho football history.
The Tigers laid a claim to maybe the single0greatest Class 1A eight-man season of all time with a 68-0 rout of Camas County in the D2 title game Thursday night at the Kibbie Dome.
The win capped a perfect season (10-0), made them the first 1A DII team to three-peat and extended their state-leading winning streak to 25 games.
“The word to describe it is dominant,” Kendrick coach Zane Hobart said. “There’s really no other words to describe it really. I think we kind of showed that tonight.”
And all season.
The closest any team came to them was Class 1A D1 Oakley, which is playing for its own state title tonight. And even it lost by 22 points.
Kendrick’s average margin of victory ended up finishing at 60.4 points.
“It definitely started years before this one,” said senior Ty Koepp, who’s been the starting quarterback for all three of these championship runs. “Just everyone putting in the work during the offseason and wanting to get better and wanting to win.”
That was made crystal clear early Thursday.
Senior lineman Dallas Morgan pounced on a loose football following a botched exchange by Camas County (9-2) on its opening drive of the game. Three plays later, Koepp notched the first of his six touchdowns with a 12-yard run for a 6-0 lead with 9:15 remaining in the opening quarter.
Kendrick never looked back from there, scoring on every single one of its possessions. It put up 582 yards of total offense - 86 yards back of the all-time classification record - with the backups playing for almost the entire fourth quarter.
Koepp put on an absolute show in his final game in an orange and black uniform. He went 13-of-16 for 376 yards - 57 yards off the classification mark- and four touchdowns. Koepp also had two more on the ground, including what was his final score of his prolific career. The soon-to-be three-time all-state quarterback scampered in on a 3-yard run with 5:29 to go in the third quarter. It gave the Tigers a commanding 52-0 advantage.
“He’s played like that since he’s pretty much been a freshman,” Hobart said. “He’s a talented kid and this game might not be his last football game. He’s got college aspirations and some college offers (Montana Tech) already, so he’s probably going to play some college football.”
The defense might have had the most impressive showing, though.
It forced three turnovers and didn’t allow the Mushers to cross into the red zone until there was around eight minutes to go in the game. Camas County was just 10 yards away from its first touchdown before senior defensive back Mason Kimberling preserved the shutout with an end-zone interception. The Mushers entered the contest averaging 61.8 points per game.
Kendrick, which ends the year having only given up 9.6 ppg, tied a classification record by becoming the first team in 38 years to pitch a shutout in a championship game. Council was the last with 44-0 win over North Gem during the 1985 final.
“They definitely do,” said Koepp when asked if the defense gets overlooked. “They set the tone for us to go out there and give us good field position and they do everything to set up our offense. It’s just amazing.”
