Tigers' unexpected run stopped by Hagerman

POCATELLO - Kendrick quarterback Austin Hall scored two rushing touchdowns, but it wasn't enough for the Tigers against a formidable Hagerman club in the Idaho Class 1A Division I football championship game at Holt Arena on Friday afternoon.

Kendrick fell 31-20 to the Pirates (12-0) who rolled through the playoffs, outscoring opponents 126-50.

"I think we should be proud of how far we've come," Tigers coach Davey Steele said. "Nobody picked us to make it this far."

Jared Boyle caught a 30-yard pass from Hall midway through the first quarter, and the Tigers (10-2) matched Hagerman's two touchdowns in the first half, even leading after Hall scrambled 63 yards for a touchdown with 7:21 left in the second quarter. But the Tigers faltered on both two-point conversion attempts and trailed 16-12 at the half.

"They were big and physical and blowing up our offensive line," Steele said of Hagerman, which tallied 10 sacks.

Early in the third quarter, Hagerman's Tyler Martin dashed into the end zone from 10 yards out to give the Pirates a two-possession lead - and force the Tigers to scrap their running game.

Kendrick then pulled out all the stops offensively, running as many passing plays for its receivers as its quarterback. "Toss sweeps, reverses," Steele said.

But penalties and incompletions sunk the Tigers into a perpetual third-and-10 scenario.

"That's pretty much the position we were in," Steele said. "You're more worried about converting (the first down) than scoring."

Hagerman's Kade Kress ran for two TDs, including a 40-yard scramble for the game's first score, and Martin and Johnathon Owsley added one touchdown apiece to provide the difference.

It had been nine years since Kendrick, whose coach played on the last championship squad, made it to the state finals.

"I'm very thankful," Steele said of his squad, which featured a group of seniors he'd coached since junior high. "I told them how much they meant to me, for sticking with me for all this time and leading us to this point.

"We're very disappointed right now, to go out like this," Steele added, "but I think (our players) know that we're going to build on this and have a great squad next year."

Kendrick 6 6 0 8-20

Hagerman 8 8 15 0-31

Hagerman - Kade Kress 40 run (Xavier Strick pass from Kress)

Kendrick - Jared Boyle 30 pass from Austin Hall (pass failed)

Kendrick - Hall 63 run (pass failed)

Hagerman - Kress 11 run (Tyler Martin run)

Hagerman - Martin 10 run (Austin Funkhouser run)

Hagreman - Johnathon Owsley 47 run (Phillip Berndt kick)

Kendrick - Hall 4 run (Hall run)