There is little better than the feeling of a job well done. That's what Carey High School football players felt all weekend after winning the State 1A Division 2 championship game.
"We had a great sense of accomplishment beating Kootenai and going undefeated," said eighth-year coach Lane Kirkland (65-16). He guided Carey to its second state championship in three years.
Carey (12-0) finished the third unbeaten season in school history with a convincing 46-12 victory over the previously unbeaten Kootenai Warriors (11-1) Friday on the Kibbie Dome turf in Moscow.
Not only did Carey (33-3 over 3 seasons) give the school its fourth state championship banner in eight title game appearances, this year's Panthers emerged as the highest-scoring Carey team of all time with 572 points or 47.7 points per game.
The star on both sides of the football was Carey senior Heith Adamson. He scored six of Carey's seven touchdowns, rushed for 169 yards and led a strong defensive charge from his linebacker position with 15 tackles and seven assists.
"Heith was the lead horse. He left everything he had on the Kibbie Dome turf," said Kirkland. "On his last sweep for a first down in the fourth quarter, he was absolutely exhausted, flat-out worn out. He went full throttle every down, and blocked two or three guys when he didn't have the ball."
Coach Kirkland never doubted Carey would come out and beat Kootenai, despite the fact that the Panthers hadn't won in the Kibbie Dome in two previous state eight-man football championship game appearances, 1993 and 1995.
He said, "All last week, I never doubted we'd get the job done. I have great trust in these kids. I felt they were battle tested, having been in some tight games this season when the outcome was in doubt at halftime. Before the game, I thought we'd score 50 points.
"This young team (3 seniors) really demonstrated the determination to get the title back in our hands. They stayed focused and played hard whenever they were on the field. They played fast, hit hard, believed and won. I'm just so proud of their efforts. They're great kids!"
Kootenai with its 50.2 ppg scoring average was a real threat, particularly after piling up 617 yards in its 54-26 state semi-final rout of Garden Valley Nov. 15. But the Warrior rushing star of that game with 287 yards, senior Ben Shannon, left with a dislocated left elbow on the third play of Friday's state championship game.
Junior Jake Hall stepped up for Kootenai and led all rushers with 189 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns, but the Warriors had to make the kind of adjustments to compensate for Shannon's loss that led to a weakening of their offense and defense. And Carey capitalized.
Kirkland said, "On Tuesday before the game, we put in a new play, a quick hitter dive, to take advantage of their 3-3-2 defense. It worked well—scoring three times with Heith and leading to a half-dozen first downs. Our front five communicated and executed the blocking schemes to help us score."
Once again, junior quarterback Trevor Peck (9-for-12, 165 yards) added another dimension to Carey's rushing-based attack. He worked the "Rockland right" pass play in the right flat to perfection, hitting Adamson twice in the first half for touchdowns and a 20-6 lead.
Kirkland said, "Trevor did a great job of throwing the ball and scrambling for first downs.
"We were able to sweep, power and pass. Kootenai didn't know how to handle all the things we could do. They were shell-shocked and didn't make adjustments out of their 3-3-2. When they got the ball, our players just seemed to want to run for positive yardage."
A big plus for Carey was the fill-in performance of junior Antonio Gamino (7 carries for 126 yards). He took over when junior Gonzalo Zarate hurt his ankle and left the game early in the second half. Gamino also took over the kickoffs and punts for Zarate, who has excelled on special teams all year.
In all, Carey rushed for 383 yards, added 165 through the air and finished with 590 total yards, over 200 more than Kootenai. Even Warriors coach Doug Napierala admitted that Kootenai became too one-dimensional after the unfortunate loss of Ben Shannon.
On defense, Carey tackled hard and "only let two or three plays go for long yardage," said Kirkland. He said, "We stopped them quite a few times on fourth down. Coach (Lee) Cook's defense swarmed and tea-kettled all day. Kootenai had never experienced the likes of the blue wrecking crew before. We showed dominance."
Kirkland added, "We had two or three guys chasing their quarterback all game. We put pressure on quarterback (Kolten) Willms and tackled them for losses several times."
He said, "Really, I felt we peaked and got better each game, ending with Friday's effort. The kids shared a common goal—to win a state championship. They got it done."
"On Thursday night we met in the conference room of the hotel and had the greatest team meeting of all time," he said. "We got a good night's rest and executed the game plan at 3 p.m. the next day. It was amazing to go undefeated, and awesome to celebrate the undefeated season of 1998 that way."
Check next week's Local Life for more John Peck photos from the Moscow dome.
PANTHER NOTES—Heith Adamson finished up with 27 TDs and 2 conversions for 166 points, putting him #3 on Carey's all-time single-season scoring list behind Jonathan Rivera (29 TDs, 182 points in 2000) and Lyman Kirkland (26 TD, 170 points in 1993). Adamson moved all the way up to #2 on the career scoring list. He finished with 45 TD and 13 conversions for 296 points. Rivera had 73 TD and 17 conversions for a school-high 472 points from 1997-2000.....There is some question whether Adamson tied the state championship game record with his 6 TD. Newspaper reports listed Deary's Aaron Workman with 6 TD after Deary's 54-14 Kibbie Dome win over Carey in 1995, but Workman is listed with 7 TD in current Idaho High School Activities Association records. Another player with 6 TD is Kendrick's Cade Konen in 1991....Rounding out Carey's top four career scorers behind Rivera (472) and Adamson (296) are Greg Edwards (252) and Lyman Kirkland (246).
Carey also won state titles in 2006, 1998 and 1994, all at Holt Arena in Pocatello. The Panthers lost to Deary at the Kibbie Dome in 1993 and 1995.....Carey's previous season-high on offense was 555 points in the 11-1 state championship season of 2006. Carey's best defensive mark was the stingy 102 points allowed in the school's first state title season, 1994, but this year's total of 148 on defense is third-best in school history, tying the 1993 team that lost to Deary 36-22....In 17 seasons since 1992, Carey's cumulative record is 146-30.
Friday's championship game represented only the third time all season that Kootenai (11-1) played all four quarters of a game instead of ending early on the 45-point mercy rule......Coach Doug Napierala's Kootenai Warriors outscored opponents 602 to 126 during their excellent season but couldn't solve Carey....University of Idaho student Teddy Larsen of Hailey did a little research while watching Friday's title game. Carey QB Trevor Peck is the youngest brother of Larsen's wife, so Larsen sat with his mother-in-law and got some family history. He said, "I thought it was interesting how one family can really help make a community." Larsen said that J.R. Peck had six great-grandsons playing for Carey Friday. Among J.R.'s children were Ronald Peck (father of Thomas Peck and John Peck, who are the fathers of Trevor Peck, Brad Peck and Blair Peck); Ross Peck (father of Robb Peck, who is the father of Todd Peck); and daughter Erma Peck, who married Bob Adamson. Erma had two children, Craig Adamson (father of Heith Adamson) and Jill Gamino (mother of Antonio Gamino).....Larsen added that Friday's win represented redemption for the Kirkland family, since coach Lane Kirkland's brother Lyman Kirkland played in the Kibbie Dome when the Panthers lost to Deary 36-22 in the 1993 championship game.
Idaho has crowned 30 eight-man football championship teams since 1984. Carey and Council are now tied for the lead with four titles apiece. Garden Valley, Deary and Kendrick have three apiece, North Gem and Salmon River of Riggins two.....Later Friday at the Kibbie Dome, the Prairie Pirates (12-0) won their first State 1A Division 1 title 32-22 over defending champion Oakley (11-1). It snapped Oakley's 25-game winning streak.
Carey seniors, from left, Jared Cenarrusa, Andrew Carlson and Heith Adamson hold the trophy high at the Kibbie Dome. Photo by
