Bishop Kelly 35, Kuna 14:  Five different players scored touchdowns as the three-time defending 4A state champion Knights ran out to a 35-0 lead in the season-opening win. Luke Burley, Ben Hruby, Bronson King, Joe Senn and Khalil Forehand all scored touchdowns for Bishop Kelly (1-0) while Danny Rogers had two, fourth-quarter touchdown passes for Kuna (0-1).

Bishop Kelly GOOD:  The first half.  The Knights were spectacular in the first two quarters, scoring two touchdowns on offense, two touchdowns on special teams and forcing two turnovers.  Head coach Tim Brennan and his staff showed off a lot of offensive depth and versatility,so much so that All-SIC performers Vince Sengelmann and Luke Burley (whose touchdown was on the game’s opening kickoff) didn’t have big games, production-wise,but BK still won comfortably over a 5A opponent.  And Raoul Johnson was a menace defensively for the Knights, spending a lot of the night in Kuna’s backfield.

Bishop Kelly AREA FOR IMPROVEMENT:  The Knights flat-lined a little bit in the second half, which isn’t the most surprising thing in the world after jumping to such a big lead. The good thing with that, though, is that the Knights’ veteran coaching staff can use the second half as a “teachable” moment and, ultimately, the team will be better for it.

Kuna GOOD:  The Kavemen kept battling, even though they were once down by as many as 35 points. The defense competed all night, despite spending a lot of time with its back against the goal line after offensive turnovers.  And quarterback Danny Rogers looked more and more comfortable as the game wore on, making better decisions with the ball and delivering passes with much more authority and confidence.  Senior linebackers Jackson Owen and Kyle Johnson both made big plays on defense as well.

Kuna AREA FOR IMPROVEMENT:  The offensive line did some good things, several times giving Rogers enough time to get to a second,third and fourth read, but struggled to open running lanes for running back Duston Taylor against a tough Bishop Kelly defensive front.  While some of the credit clearly goes to Bishop Kelly’s defense, Kuna will need more consistent results against a schedule that includes Middleton, Eagle and Rocky Mountain (among others).  The Kavemen also turned the ball over four times, something head coach Ian Smart no doubt will address in practice this week.

Final Thoughts:  Overall, Bishop Kelly did nothing to dispel the notion that they should be in the mix for a fourth straight 4A state championship.  The Knights ran the ball well, hit throws when they needed to, created turnovers and played very tough against the run.   That’s about as good of a recipe for success as there is in football.

Kuna’s coaching staff should be pretty happy with the way their players kept working, kept competing and, ultimately, did some good things (both offensively and defensively) against an opponent that figures to be just about as good as any other they’ll face this season.  They need to be able to run the ball better and can’t keep asking their defense to defend the short field over and over again, but there is plenty of reason to think this is a team that will continue to grow over the course of the season.

You can watch this game on-demand in the IdahoSports.com GameStreams archives.