Kendrick beats Kamiah in the Kibbie Dome to secure rematch with Logos

MOSCOW — The Whitepine League’s two football heavyweights are set to face off in the semifinals after Kendrick and Logos rolled to big victories Friday at the P1FCU Kibbie Dome in the Idaho 2A state playoffs.

Take Kendrick off of Kamiah’s schedule and Kubs quarterback David Kludt could have had an interception-less season. His lone regular-season interception came versus Kendrick and on Friday, the Tigers picked off three of Kludt’s passes and also forced and recovered a fumble on a strip sack on Kamiah’s opening drive.

The Tigers’ physical defense and future Idaho Vandal Sawyer Hewett’s 100-yard rushing performance paved the path for Kendrick’s 58-14 win over Kamiah in the quarterfinals.

Logos routed Grace 58-18 in the earlier quarterfinal at the same site.

Sawyer Hewett impreses in his future home

The Tigers’ star running back who recently committed to play football for UI impressed in what will be his college football home field, rushing for 123 yards on 14 carries and hauling in two catches for 26 yards.

“He’s meant a lot,” Kendrick coach Zane Hobart said. “He’s a great player committed to his future home here in the Kibbie Dome. ... He means a lot. He’s a great kid and a great player.”

Hewett has been a key component for the Tigers through his high school career, scoring plenty of touchdowns in the previous three years in which the Tigers won three straight state titles, many of those playoff games taking place in the Kibbie Dome.

“It means everything,” Hewett said of playing in the Kibbie Dome. “I love this stadium and we’ve made a lot of history in it and I’m hoping to make more history in it in the future.”

Kendrick quarterback Maddox Kirkland completed 9-of-23 passes for 120 yards and wide receiver Ralli Roetcisoender caught four passes for 49 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown in which he broke or evaded not one, not two, but three tackles on his way to the end zone to put Kendrick up 18-0 in the second quarter.

“He made a great play out in the open, broke a couple of tackles and trucked a guy in the end zone, so it was awesome to see,” Hewett said. “He’s a great player.”

Kamiah in the Kibbie Dome

The Kamiah Kubs hung within striking distance of Kendrick for most of the first half.

Down 12-0 in the first quarter, Kamiah ran a fake punt, dialing up a 14-yard completion to move the chains. Then Kludt threw an interception and the Tigers drove to the 2-yard line.

Kludt took matters into his own hands. Catching the ball as it bounced off a Tigers’ receiver in the end zone to pull in the interception and keep it a two-score game.

Kamiah’s two scores came on deep passes to Everett Oatman and Lawson Landmark for touchdowns of 62 and 53 yards, respectively.

Kamiah coach Nels Kludt said he was proud of his senior class, including his son David Kludt, who turned in a solid senior campaign, wide receiver/cornerback Matthew Oatman and lineman Chris George.

“Proud as hell of my team and they did a good job,” Nels Kludt said. “Obviously Kendrick’s damn good and I wish them the best of luck going forward.”

Kendrick vs. Logos Part 2

The Tigers are playing their first year up a level following Idaho’s prep sports reclassification.

Most teams have been no match for Kendrick as the Tigers won by wide margins.

“It’s better,” Hobart said of what he has noticed in Kendrick’s first year at the 2A level. “There’s more competition, there’s better athletes, there’s better coaching.”

Unfortunately for Kendrick, another juggernaut with similar wide margins of victory awaited in the 2A Whitepine League: the Logos Knights.

The Knights beat the Tigers 30-18 on Oct. 18 in Kendrick. It was a game in which the Tigers led at halftime but Logos ultimately overtook by shutting down Kendrick’s run game.

“(Logos) is a good football team,” Hobart said. “I think you’ve got to play a really clean game to go compete with them at a high level.”

Logos broke Kendrick’s 31-game winning streak, a streak that included three state championship wins.

With Kendrick not having lost before that since 2021, dealing with loss was a new experience for most of the Tigers.

“I actually think that we took it pretty well. We just used it as a learning experience. ” Hewett said of handling Kendrick’s first loss in three years. “Ultimately it was a good thing for us. It proves that we’re not immortal and that we can lose.”

The score will be 0-0 and 48 minutes will separate the Logos Knights or the Kendrick Tigers from advancing to the 2A state championship when the two titans clash on Friday at Bengal Field in Lewiston.

Logos 58, Grace 18

The Logos Knights routed Grace the other quarterfinal game.

Logos quarterback Seamus Wilson competed 7-of-15 passes for 142 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

He nearly exceeded his passing production on the ground, running the ball 11 times for 140 yards and three touchdowns.

Logos coach Nick Holloway said that his offensive line deserved a lot of credit for sustaining a 300-yard rushing attack.

Logos will face Kendrick for the second time this season, but with higher stakes this time around.

“We tell them to expect the unexpected, right,” Holloway said. “We’ve seen each other, so you should expect a wrinkle, or three or four, or five from the other team.”

Kendrick 12 6 24 16 — 58

Kamiah 0 6 0 8 — 14

FIRST QUARTER

Kendrick — Sawyer Hewett 8 run (run failed)

Kendrick — Maddox Kirkland 6 run (run failed)

SECOND QUARTER

Kendrick — Cade Silflow 18 pass from Kirkland (pass failed)

Kamiah — Everett Oatman 62 pass from David Kludt (pass failed)

THIRD QUARTER

Kendrick — Hewett 7 run (Hewett pass from Kirkland)

Kendrick — Hewett 12 run (Ralli Roetcisoender pass from Kirkland)

Kendrick — Nathan Kimberling 21 run (Kimberling run)

FOURTH QUARTER

Kendrick — Nathan Kimberling (Kimberling run)

Kamiah — Lawson Landmark 53 pass from Kludt (Landmark pass from Kludt)

Kendrick — Blake Morgan 20 run (Morgan run)

Passing — Kendrick: Maddox Kirkland 9-23-1-120; Kamiah: David Kludt 14-31-3-239

Rushing — Kendrick: Sawyer Hewett 14-123, Xavier Carpenter 8-77, Orion Stewart 2-25, Nathan Kimberling 4-35, Blake Morgan 2-24, Maddox Kirkland 8-5 Kamiah: Everett Oatman 3-0, Todd Roberts 2-9

Receiving — Kendrick: Ralli Roetcisoender 4-49, Cade Sillow 2-20 Kamiah: Oatman 5-113, Lawson Landmark 3-58, Gavin Schoening 2-42

Logos 58, Grace 18

Logos 14 24 14 6—58

Grace 0 12 6 0—18

Logos — Ace Greiser 6 run (pass failed).

Logos — Seamus Wilson 22 run (Baxter Covington run).

Grace — Braden Kimball 12 pass from Gavin Draper (run failed).

Logos — Wilson 36 run (Covington run).

Grace — Kimball 78 pass from Draper (pass failed).

Logos — Dominic Porras 4 pass from Wilson (Ryan Daniels pass from Wilson).

Logos — Wilson 6 run (Covington run).

Logos — Lucius Comis 38 pass from Wilson (pass failed).

Logos — Daniels 10 pass from Wilson (Ole Sundlie run).

Grace — Chase Smith 15 pass from Draper (run failed).

Logos — Sundlie 15 run (run failed).

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @Sam_C_Taylor.