STATE 5A FOOTBALL SEMIFINALS: Hawks fall in semis for second time in three years

BOISE — In the final four for the second time in three years is nothing for the Lakeland Hawks to hang their heads about. 

But another setback in the state 5A football semifinals is definitely something coach Mike Schroeder will be thinking about for a while. 

Bishop Kelly, the top seed, jumped out to a 30-0 lead after the first quarter and blitzed the fourth-seeded Hawks 47-14 at Nick Ysursa Field on Friday. 

Lakeland, which also finished tied for third under Schroeder in 2024 after falling to Hillcrest in Ammon, gave up a touchdown on the second play from scrimmage, then saw the Knights recover a squib kick and move down the field for another score less than four minutes into the game. 

The Hawks, who trailed 44-0 at the half, finished 6-5.

"Their start was phenomenal and ours was probably the worst start we've had all season," Schroeder said. "Give them all the credit in the world, but we really made them a lot better at what they're doing that they really were." 

Lakeland, which had won six straight, fell in the quarterfinals at Hillcrest in 2025 and has advanced to the state playoffs the last seven seasons. 

"These games where we've got to travel 500 miles and play, we've got to find the answer," Schroeder said. "Bishop Kelly is a heck of a program, but we should have played a lot better tonight." 

Bishop Kelly (11-0) faces Columbia (9-2) of Nampa in the championship game next weekend.  

Lakeland senior Griffin Tamagni ran for 185 yards and a pair of second-half touchdowns as the Hawks outscored the Knights 14-3 in the second half. 

"We played really poorly in the first half, so it could only get better in the second half," said Schroeder, who coached Preston to the state 3A title in 2015. "I was a little speechless at halftime because I'd never been in that situation before. I'm proud of the kids for rallying." 

Lakeland was bidding for its first trip to the title game since 2001. 

"We've set a standard and expectation within the program now," Schroeder said. "Anytime you're part of the final four, you can build off that. We know that Bishop Kelly is a program that stands alone in this division, and might be a No. 1 team in the state, either 5A or 6A. We could have played better, but we did not. But I'm proud of our guys, the fans that traveled and our community support all year." 

Lakeland    0    0    7    7    —    14 

Bishop Kelly    30    14    3    0    —    47 

First quarter 

BK — Boston Huskey 90 pass from Jaxson Brady (Henderson run), 10:53. 

BK — Moses Irwin 14 pass from Brady (Brady pass from Huskey), 8:53. 

BK — Brady 55 run (Nicholas Dillen kick), 5:52. 

BK — Jared Thiel 6 fumble recovery (Dillen kick), 3:23. 

Second quarter 

BK — Nicholas Hebert 10 pass from Brady (Dillen kick), 9:28. 

BK — Huskey 14 pass from Brady (Dillen kick), 4:41. 

Third quarter 

BK — FG Dillen 27, 4:40. 

LL — Griffin Tamagni 17 run (Parker Sterling kick), :47. 

Fourth quarter 

LL — Tamagni 2 run (Sterling kick), 2:14. 

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS  

RUSHING — LL, Tamagni 31-185, Rivadeneira 1-10, Bligh 5-(-11). BK, Lynes 14-82, Dahl 3-13, Brady 1-54, Irwin 1-16, Pratt 1-2, Hibbard 4-13, Schaefer 1-4. 

PASSING — LL, Bligh, 6-8-0-44. BK, Brady, 6-7-0-170, Papanikolas, 2-2-0-4. 

RECEIVING — LL, Fuhriman 1-10, Boardman 3-8, Adams 1-15, Rivandeneira 1-14. BK, Huskey 2-101, Irwin 3-59, Hebert 1-10, Moore 1-2, Gray 1-2.