Royal gives Newport the Jack-attack

Royal running back's five first-half touchdowns powers Knights to next round

ROYAL CITY — The Newport Grizzlies got Jacked up Saturday — Jeff Jack-ed up.

The Royal running back dismantled the Grizzlies' defense, breaking tackles and breaking ankles en route to a game-breaking five

touchdowns in the first half of Royal's 53-12 win in the 1A state qualifier in Royal City.

"I thought our offensive line blocked well, and Jeff bounces off the first tackle a lot of times," said Royal head coach Wiley Allred. Jack rumbled for 226 yards on 21 carries, caught a touchdown pass and booted a 30-yard field goal. In all, he was responsible for 39 of

Royal's 53 points.

"We saw the talent and ability last year," Allred said. "He definitely hasn't disappointed us."

But first it was the Knights' defense that allowed Jack to run. Royal shut down Newport's offense, which relied on tight, three-back formations aimed at setting up sweeps and counters.

"Our scout team worked hard all week and ran (Newport's) offense really well," Allred said. "That made a huge difference."

That difference showed on the first possession of the game, as Royal stuffed three consecutive Grizzly runs, forcing a three-and-out. Once with the ball, the Knights wasted no time.

A James Dykes catch and a Jack run quickly put the ball in Newport territory. Then quarterback Ray Valle hit with Kyle Scroggins with a 43-yard reception that put the ball on the one-yard line. On second down, Jack punched it in for his first score. The possession took less than three minutes.

The drive would typify the rest of the game — Royal's defense making quick work of the Grizzly attack and Royal's offense scoring on drives that were long on yards and short in duration. This included a stretch in the second quarter where the Knights tallied 21 points in less than six minutes.

The big lead forced the ground-heavy Newport to attack through the air. But Royal's defense won the battle for the line of scrimmage and Grizzly quarterback Ryan Farmin was consistently forced out of a pocket that was smaller than one found on J-Lo's jeans. Valle threw for 234 yards on 14 for 26 passing, primarily to Dykes, who caught six balls for 56 yards.

Allred said he was not concerned with the fact that Newport broke open for a few big gains, including their first score — a 50-yard Myles Melendez scramble off of a busted halfback pass in the second quarter.

"Melendez is a good player and he made a great run," Allred said. "I think that's just playoff football. We will just talk to our kids

about playing hard on the backside."

Newport's second score came in the fourth quarter as time expired, but it was off of Royal's second string.

With the win, 11-0 Royal advances to the first round of the state tournament. They face 9-1 Tonasket, whose only loss came from Cashmere in the first game of the season.

On paper, Royal has the edge. Tonasket's defense has allowed 18 points per game to Royal's 6.6. Tonasket offense has racked up 41.8 points per game to Royal's 55.1.

The two teams shared one opponent this year. In the middle of the season, Royal crushed Granger 49-8. Granger played Tonasket Saturday and won handily, 41-18.

Allred said he does not know too much about Tonasket other than that they have won big.

"They've been dominating their opponents so I'm sure it's going to be a heck of a ballgame." he said.

SIDEBAR

The first round of the 1A state football tournament showcases

underdogs versus four undefeated teams:

Zillah (8-3) vs. Freeman (10-0)

Kalama (9-2) vs. Napavine (10-0)

LaConner (7-3) vs. Friday Harbor (10-0)

Tonasket (9-1) vs. Royal (11-0)