Written by: Will Hoenike
In the past eight years, the Kendrick Tigers have played 83 football games. They’ve won 71, including the past 25 in a row. Those 25 wins have come by a cumulative score of 1,447-220. Two of those wins have come over perennial power Oakley. They’ve won three straight 1A Division 2 (now 1A) state titles.
The Tigers owned Idaho’s smallest classification.
However, 2024 is a new year. Kendrick is now a 2A school, bumping up one classification size. Two-time Idaho Player of the Year Ty Koepp has graduated. As have other all-state honorees Dallas Morgan, Wyatt Fitzmorris, Lane Clemenhagen, and Hunter Taylor.
“The X-factor for this team will be the ability to stay extremely focused now that we are in the 2A Whitepine league and every game matters,” said veteran head coach Zane Hobart. “Moving to 2A brings another level of physicality and we will need to match or exceed that. Being the reigning, three-time state champs also comes with a price and a bullseye, teams are chomping at the bit to play us.”
But don’t bet your life savings that this is the year the pendulum swings the other way for Kendrick. The reason for that is simple – this team is still loaded with talent.
It starts with senior running back Sawyer Hewett, who scored 23 touchdowns last season in what amounted to part-time duty because the Tigers built such big leads that he seldom played anywhere close to four quarters in a game. He has two all-state offensive linemen in front of him in seniors Brock Boyer and Carson Hogan. And the team has a jack-of-all-trades standout in Nathan Tweit, a junior who can slot in just about anywhere and contribute right away. He was an all-conference receiver and linebacker as a junior.
That’s not even close to all of the talent at Hobart’s disposal, but you probably haven’t heard all the names yet.
“I think I am most excited to see this next group just come out and compete,” Hobart said. “Everyone was very familiar with last year’s senior class but a lot of people don’t understand how talented some of the guys behind them were. It is their turn to make a name for themselves.”
Players like Xavier Carpenter, the senior running back and linebacker. Or junior Ralli Roetcisoender, a receiver and defensive back who will be tying up public address announcer’s tongues for two more years. Or sophomore lineman Nathan Kimberling, a familiar last name for Tiger foes (Mason Kimberling graduated last spring) but a new first name. Or Cade Silflow (Jack Silflow graduated in 2023).
The good news for Kendrick fans is that these players don’t ascend into bigger roles without experience. The Tigers did not win a game by fewer than 22 points last season, which means the younger players got ample playing time at the varsity level, which fuels Hobart’s belief that the shelves are well-stocked in Kendrick even though the team will be playing in a larger classification this fall.
Naturally, a lot of eyes will be on the quarterback position in Kendrick. You don’t just lose a player the caliber of Koepp and expect everything to stay seamlessly status-quo. Fortunately, Hobart and his staff have two players who can step in and keep the car moving in Tweit and sophomore Maddox Kirkland. How those reps are divided and how those players are utilized is yet to be determined, but both are talented athletes who have had success in Kendrick’s system.
“Our team speed and athleticism will still be our strength,” Hobart said. “We will be very solid upfront with an all senior offensive line. We will look to stay balanced and spread the field. Get the ball into the hands of athletes in space like Sawyer Hewett, Nathan Tweit and Ralli Roetcisoender who are very tough to tackle one on one.”
Defensively, the coaches are excited about the team’s defensive ends, Boyer and senior Wyatt Cook, setting the tone. The defense held opponents to six points or less in six of Kendrick’s ten games last fall and returns plenty of talent to shut down opposing offenses again this season.
With the move up to 2A, the Tigers will join a league with the likes of Prairie, Lapwai, Kamiah, and Logos, which should present some sterner challenges than Kendrick faced in the smaller 1A division in recent years. But don’t expect a dramatic drop-off. Or maybe any drop-off at all as new names become household lexicon. Kendrick remains one of the teams to beat this season, even in the larger classification.