Royal reigns

Knights defeat Cashmere

KENNEWICK — Royal took little time to establish their dominance Friday defeating Cashmere 45-7 to advance in their quest for another state title.

On their first possession of the night AJ Eldredge connected with Daniel Garza for a 44-yard touchdown to take a 7-0 lead just three minutes into the first quarter.

The Knight's defense took the field and held Cashmere to four first downs in the first half. Trandon Benson, Andy Garza and Victor Hernandez all pressured the Cashmere quarterback and earned sacks in the first half.

"We played good, clean football," said Royal head coach Wiley Allred. "We played a very disciplined game against the option on defense."

Royal's next scoring opportunity came in the second quarter. The Knights were facing a fourth-and-five when Eldredge found Colt Brown for an 8-yard gain and a first down. The drive continued downfield with a 16-yard gain by Hector Ledezma to bring up first-and-goal from the 2-yard line. After three tries at the goal line, the Knight's opted for a field goal on fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line to take a 10-0 lead.

The defense came up big for Royal Cashmere's next possession. Hernandez sacked the Cashmere quarterback and forced a fumble that was recovered by Benson to return possession to the Knights on the Cashmere 25-yard line.

On the ensuing drive, Eldredge connected with Randy Christensen for a 13-yard gain and followed it up with an 11-yard gain on a pass to Cash Brown. On first-and-goal from the Cashmere 1-yard line, Eldredge took the ball in for a touchdown on a quarterback keeper to push the score to 17.

After forcing Cashmere to punt in a fourth-and-11 situation, Royal began their final possession of the half with 57 seconds remaining. The Knights marched 48 yards in seven plays for a first-and-10 at the Cashmere 19-yard line. On the next play Eldredge found Zach Lewis. Cashmere was flagged for a personal foul to give Royal another first down on the Cashmere 5-yard line. Time expired as Royal lined up for the final play of the half but was wound back after coach Allred alerted the field officials to an error — the clock stops on a penalty.

The Cashmere team was penalized again for unsportsmanlike conduct for leaving the field before a ruling had been made on the field. The penalty was half the distance to the goal and put Royal on the Cashmere 2-yard line.

The Knights capitalized with Eldredge finding Lewis for a touchdown to end the half 24-0.

Royal continued to dominate Cashmere earning another score to open the third quarter. The Knights went 73 yards and capped off the drive with an Eldredge touchdown pass to Colt Brown.

Cashmere's offensive woes continued when on fourth-and-four, Royal's Jake Christensen blocked a Cashmere punt. The Knights downed the ball at the Cashmere 4-yard line and took over possession.

Eldredge took two plays to get the ball in the end zone, finding Lewis on second-and-goal from the 8-yard line to push the lead to 38-0.

Cashmere earned their only touchdown of the night of their next possession to make it 38-7.

Royal's final touchdown came on a 2-yard touchdown run by Daniel Garza to advance the game.

Eldredge finished the game 12-for-15 passing for 212 yards and four touchdowns and eight tackles. Dexter Allred had nine tackles. Bryan Delay had six tackles.

The Knights will spend the week preparing for their semi-final game against Meridian. Royal's next game is at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lampson Field in Kennewick.