Knights bury Warden in second half
ROYAL CITY — Facing a tough task in taking on the defending 1A state champion Royal Knights, Warden was holding its own against the number three ranked team in the state Friday.
With just over two minutes to play in the first half, Warden trailed 13-0 and had the Knights pinned with their backs to the goal line. From there though, Royal took their game to the next level, exploding on the Warden defense en route to a 62-0 victory.
"Just hitting a couple big plays," said Royal coach Wiley Allred when asked about the Knight scoring spree. "Our offensive line just took over."
Late in the first half with the ball near the 10-yard line, Royal's Daniel Garza broke loose on a run to the left side to get the ball out to midfield. On the next play, Hector Ledezma carried Royal down to the Warden 32-yard line.
From there, Austin Allred hit A.J. Eldredge on a deep post route for a touchdown with 1:37 to play in the half to extend the Knight lead to 20-0.
In the second half, the Knights would put to end any thoughts of a Warden upset by scoring 23 points in just five minutes of play.
Royal took the opening possession of the half down the field and into the end zone. On the third play of the Knight drive, Eldredge connected with Zach Lewis on a 47-yard touchdown strike to put the Knights up 27-0 with 10:32 left in the third quarter.
On the ensuing Warden possession, the Cougars surrendered a safety as the deep snap on fourth down went sailing over the punter's head and into the end zone.
The Cougars were then forced to kick to the Knights, where Royal ran a reverse that freed Garza to return the kickoff for a touchdown.
"With the speed of some of our kids, we hope to make some big plays," said Allred.
It would go from bad to worse for Warden, which fumbled the ball away to the Knights on their next play, giving Royal the ball on the Warden 35-yard line. On a third-and-four, Ledezma carried the ball to the right side and beat the Warden defense for another Royal touchdown, this one coming with seven minutes to play in the third quarter.
In less than seven minutes of game time, Royal turned a 13-0 lead into an insurmountable 43-0 margin.
While the Cougars failed to find the end zone Friday, they were able to move the ball and make a few big plays.
Warden's best scoring chance came in the second quarter, following Royal's second touchdown of the game.
The Knights attempted an onside kick and recovered the ball, but a penalty on the play by Royal gave Warden the football on their own 46-yard line.
On second down, Warden quarterback Juve Salinas hit Arty Reyes on a deep post pattern that got the Cougars down to the 22-yard line. Reyes nearly broke a tackle on the play, but was unable to retain his footing.
Out of a time out, Warden executed a quick-snap that caught the Royal defense off guard. Joel Martinez carried the ball down to the 12 on the play, giving Warden a fresh set of downs. The drive would end there, however, as Warden could not find the openings in the Royal pass coverage and eventually turned it over on downs.
"They played us tough in the first half," said Allred of Warden's performance. "I think Warden is a good football team. Their running backs are tough."