Written by: Lucas Gebhart
For a school like Bishop Kelly, it’s not enough to just get to the state playoffs. The goal is the same every year: win the state championship. Anything less and the program feels that it left something on the table.
Going into its state quarterfinals loss to Pocatello in 2021, BK was playing some of its best ball of the year. The Knights had won their last seven, scoring no less than 35 points in each of the wins.
But they only mustered 14 points that night, falling to the Thunder, 28-17. Head coach Tim Brennan says he is expecting more from his offense this year.
“(We have to be) more consistent,” he said. “(We have to) finish games in the playoffs.”
The last state championship for Bishop Kelly came in 2015. At the time, BK seemed untouchable as it was the school’s fourth title in a six-year window. But the last time the Knights played for a championship was 2017 and BK has been bounced in the quarterfinals every year since.
The good news for Knights fans is most key pieces from last year’s offense are back.
Hadley Smith is returning at quarterback after running an offense that averaged nearly 39 points per game a season ago.
On the line BK also returns one of its best, Rakeem Johnson, an offensive tackle who was a 2nd Team All-Conference selection as a sophomore. Meanwhile, junior Phillip Janquart will be the team’s starting center once again while Drew Martin and Jackson Brody return to guard.
All told, the Knights return four of their five starting linemen from last year. On top of that, Max Ciovacco also returns for his senior year at tight end.
But defense could be the strength of this year’s team.
The Knights return two starters who received first team all-conference honors in defensive lineman Jack Marshell and linebacker Jack Dennis, but that’s not all.
Luke Legarreta also is slated to be a three-year starter in the secondary while Jack Marshell returns to the defensive line as well. All are seniors.
“We have great senior leadership and team unity,” Brennan said.
But those seniors could be put to the test, and it could happen early.
Three of the Knight’s first four games are against 5A schools, Idaho highest classification, and one of those games is at Lake City, a school that sits just over seven hours from the BK parking lot. The game is scheduled for a Saturday to help BK accommodate for the travel.