5A: Bishop Kelly knocks out defending champion Hillcrest with strong second half

BOISE – There will be no repeat state companionship for the Hillcrest football team.

Bishop Kelly, unbeaten and already sporting a regular-season win over 6A champion Rigby, knocked out defending 5A champion Hillcrest 31-14 Monday night on the blue turf at Albertsons Stadium in Boise.

It was a near-perfect performance from Bishop Kelly, which shut out Hillcrest in the second half and took advantage of two interceptions, two fumbles, and an onside kick. All coming in the second half.

“Being in three state championships in a row is something special,” Hillcrest coach Brennon Mossholder said after a postgame talk with the team. “Looking back on it, I’m sure we’ll be very fond of … but hats off to those guys, they deserve to win. But I’m proud to go to battle with guys from Idaho Falls any day of the week.”

Based on rankings and how the season played out, it looked like it was only a matter of time before the Knights from Boise and the Knights from Idaho Falls met in the playoffs. A championship showdown made it even better between the top two seeds.

Bishop Kelly (13-0) entered with the top scoring offense in 5A and wasted no time, putting together an 80-yard scoring drive on its first possession.

Hillcrest (11-2) answered on its first drive as Tyson Sweetwood connected with Trezden Thomson for a 21-yard score.

Bishop Kelly took a 16-7 lead early in the second quarter, but Hillcrest closed the gap on a 12-yard touchdown run from Dax Sargent.

Bishop Kelly was successful on both of its 2-point attempts on its scores, so the Knights led 16-14.

Hillcrest put together an impressive drive in the closing minutes of the first half, but a 42-yard field goal attempt to take the lead was blocked.

That sent Bishop Kelly into the locker room up by two.

Unfortunately for Hillcrest, that was as close as the Knights would get.

Bishop Kelly opened the second half by recovering an onside kick, and turned it into a quick score.

The Hillcrest offense, which had averaged more than 40 points this year, struggled to get much going and hurt itself with interceptions on consecutive series.

Bishop Kelly also has a high-octane offense, but it was the defense that stepped up in the second half on Monday.

Four consecutive possessions ended in turnovers for Hillcrest and Bishop Kelly padded its lead with another touchdown with 6:42 remaining.

“We didn’t play well enough on special teams tonight,” Mossholder said. “Giving up multiple 2-point conversions, field goal blocked, and we gave up an onside kick … we were chasing a little bit.”

Bishop Kelly also beat Hillcrest in the championship game two years ago at Albertsons Stadium.

Hillcrest knocked off conference rival Skyline in last year’s championship.

There was almost an east Idaho rematch this year, but Bishop Kelly held off Skyline 21-20 in last week’s semifinals.

Sweetwood finished 12 of 23 for 139 yards and also rushed for 112 yards. Sargent finished with 76 rushing yards.

Bishop Kelly quarterback Ben Avella finished 17 of 24 for 216 yards and also ran for a 41-yard touchdown in the second quarter.