Written by: Lucas Gebhart
It’s a bit of a transition year for Kuna, but some around the Treasure Valley still say that despite losing a senior quarterback to graduation and his younger brother to another school, Kuna could still be dangerous this season.
Quarterback Cole Luekenga’s departure was expected at the end of last season. The senior tossed 13 touchdowns and helped lead Kuna to its first state playoff appearance since the school rejoined the 5A level.
But when his younger brother, Dylan, decided to transfer to Borah, and shift his focus to basketball, it left Kuna, a program that has steadily moved into 5A relevancy, without a plan at quarterback.
Enter Jackson Edwards – a tall and athletic, but raw sophomore.
Other areas of the offense have less question marks and is why some around the valley say Kuna could make another leap.
“Our strength on offense will be the big men up front,” said head coach Jeff Schank. “They will be a force for us and allow us to get in and out of a lot of things. Their leadership and nastiness will be the cornerstone to our offense.”
Kuna returns its top seven pass catchers from last season, including Luke Snarr and Luke Selto, who combined for 1,300 yards in 2023. Although the Kavemen lose Isaac Garcia and Gus Austin in the back field, they do get back Austin Lattimer, who carried the ball nearly 50 times last season.
“They look like a top tier team,” Borah head coach JQ Kenyon said.
“They are big up front and have some good speed at skill positions,” added Mountain View head coach Brian Compton.
Despite what they return on offense, it’s what Kuna lacked on defense that prevented them from competing with the 5A powers a year ago. The Kavemen gave up over 28 points per game last season, the second highest mark in the SIC Rivers Pod.
“We have to be better at limiting explosive plays,” Schank said. “We struggled at times trusting that all eleven players were going to do their job and tried to overcompensate. This year we have to be better at trusting each other.”
Kuna opens its season with Centennial on August 18.