Cole Valley Christian Claims First State Title in 14 Years with Historic Blowout
NAMPA — For 14 years, Cole Valley Christian waited. On Saturday afternoon at Ford Idaho Center, the Chargers made sure the wait was worth every single second.
Cole Valley Christian dismantled the back-to-back defending champion Bonners Ferry Badgers 71-35, delivering the largest margin of victory in 4A championship game history and punching their name permanently into the Idaho high school basketball record books.
It wasn’t just a win. It was a statement.
The Shots Started Falling
After struggling from behind the arc in the tournament’s first two rounds, the Chargers found their range in the most important game of the season. Cole Valley buried 5-of-8 three-pointers to open the championship game and finished 10-of-23 from deep — a performance that left Bonners Ferry with no answers.
Junior forward Cooper Kollmann was the catalyst. The sharpshooting Charger drained 5-of-6 three-pointers on his way to a game-high 21 points and 4 rebounds, turning in one of the most efficient performances in championship game history.
“We knew it was coming,” Cole Valley Christian head coach Leif Karlberg told the Idaho Statesman. “It was only a matter of time for Cooper to pop off like he did tonight, and Madden as well.”
Coming off the bench, junior guard Madden Compton answered every Kollmann three with one of his own. Compton connected on 4-of-9 from deep and finished with 18 points, giving Cole Valley a one-two punch that Bonners Ferry simply could not contain.
Bonners Ferry head coach Greg Kissee cycled through man defense, presses, and zones searching for a solution, according to the Idaho Statesman. None of it worked.
Foul Trouble? Didn’t Matter.
Cole Valley’s leading scorer, 6-foot-7 junior forward Soren Fraas, spent much of the night on the bench battling foul trouble, logging just 18 minutes before finishing with 9 points. For most teams, losing your best player to foul trouble in a championship game spells disaster.
Not for these Chargers.
“Anybody can step up,” Fraas said, per the Idaho Statesman. “Cooper, Madden did a great job doing what they always do. I think our whole team is capable of playing at state.”
Cole Valley shot 60.9% from the field as a team, out rebounded the Badgers 41-26, and built their lead to as many as 42 points, the largest in any 4A championship game ever played, and tied for second largest in any classification in Idaho state history behind Lapwai’s 42-point win in 2022.
Built for This Moment
The championship didn’t happen by accident. After going 0-2 at state a year ago, Coach Karlberg made a deliberate decision to harden his team before the 2025-26 season even began.
The Chargers traveled to Alaska for a preseason tournament and opened their schedule with losses to Capital, a 6A state qualifier, and Bishop Kelly, the newly crowned 5A state champion. Cole Valley sat at 4-4 entering the new year.
“We went 0-2 at state last year, and we felt like we left some meat on the bone,” Karlberg told the Idaho Statesman. “We wanted to make sure that we were battle tested early to kind of get tougher and learn more about ourselves. We definitely came back from that trip a different team — a tougher team, for sure — and more connected.”
Those early lessons forged a different kind of Cole Valley team. The Chargers closed the season on an 18-game winning streak, going wire to wire through the 4A tournament without a hiccup.
Bonners Ferry’s Run Comes to an End
For Bonners Ferry, the loss ends one of the most remarkable runs in recent Idaho high school basketball history. The Badgers returned to the championship game for the fourth consecutive season as the tournament’s No. 5 seed, a Cinderella story that captivated the state all week long.
But Saturday belonged to the Chargers. The Badgers went 0-for-14 from three-point range and trailed from start to finish. Junior forward Peyton Hinthorn led Bonners Ferry with 14 points, while Sulay Abubakari contributed 11 points and 6 rebounds in a losing effort.
A New Chapter Begins
Cole Valley Christian, a Meridian private school in just its second year competing in the 4A classification, closed the season 22-4 with a championship trophy and a place in the record books.
For a program that last won a state title in 2012, Saturday’s performance wasn’t just about ending a drought. It was about proving that when the lights shine brightest, the Chargers are ready.
The wait is over.
Statistics sourced from the official 4A Boys State Basketball Championship game box score. Quotes sourced from the Idaho Statesman.
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