Written by: Will Hoenike
After winning the Whitepine title last fall and reaching the 1A Division 1 state semifinals, it’s a good thing Nels Kludt and the Kamiah Kubs have an experienced team returning in 2023 because they come out of the chutes with important league games in the first two week.
The Kubs open up at home on September 1 against always-athletic and talented Lapwai and follow it up with another home game on September 8 against Logos, a team that many suggest could be a breakthrough team this fall.
“I feel like we have a great nucleus of returning players, led by Porter Whipple,” Kludt said. “We have good team chemistry and leaders on both sides of the ball.”
Which, as the coach himself said, starts with Whipple. The tough and talented 220-pound senior is a two-way standout, earning 1st Team All-State accolades on offense and defense as a junior. He helped pave the way for an offense that put up over 400 points in 11 games last season but his impact was incredibly visible on defense – 16 sacks and 27 tackles for loss – which led to him being named the Whitepine Player of the Year from the offensive and defensive line.
Whipple was the second lineman to be named the conference player of the year in three seasons, joining Prairie’s Dean Johnson, who earned the recognition in 2020. Johnson is now playing college football at The College of Idaho in Caldwell.
The Kubs do need to replace the two players who lined up alongside Whipple as linemen Will Millage and Wyatt Wanaka both graduated. Incoming freshman Rylan Skinner will compete for playing time and sophomore Everett Oatman will contribute when lined up at tight end on offense.
That group will lead the way for a veteran backfield, led by junior quarterback David Kludt. The 6-foot-5 Kludt probably garners more attention for his basketball skills, where he was 1st Team All-Whitepine last winter as a sophomore, but he’s proven to be a very skilled football player as well. He completed nearly 68 percent of his passes, including 15 touchdowns and just two interceptions, as a sophomore and also ran for over 200 yards and six scores.
The big horse, statistically, for Kamiah’s offense last season was Colton Ocain. The All-Whitepine performer ran for over 1,000 yards and 16 touchdowns last fall. He averaged over seven yards per carry and topped 100 yards in a game seven times.
He’s back this fall. So is Connor Weddle, who rushed for 489 yards and six scores last season as a junior. The duo, plus Kludt, combined for 1,789 rushing yards in 2022.
“We’ve got a strong running game and play-action passing attack,” the elder Kludt said. “We’d like to get better consistently in our short passing game and get better at downfield blocking.”
Only two teams topped 30 points against the Kamiah defense last season and, probably not coincidentally, it’s the two teams that defeated the Kubs, Raft River and Grace. With Whipple up front, Weddle at linebacker, and Ocain, Kludt, and Oatman back in the secondary, a solid core returns this fall for the Kub defense.
The ability to rely on that experience should benefit Kamiah greatly in 2023, especially early in the season. Getting through the first two games unscathed will be a challenge with a big one looming shortly thereafter – September 22, just eight miles up US-12 in Kooskia against rival Clearwater Valley. The Rams and Kubs are both considered top contenders for the Whitepine title in 2023 so that game, with the importance mixed with the rivalry, should be a doozy and could go a long way in determining which team from the Whitepine will secure the league’s automatic berth into the 1A Division 1 state playoffs.