Royal dismantles Cascade offense, moves on

Knights win in the rain, 48-0

PASCO - The Royal Knights' state quarterfinal football matchup with the Cascade-Leavenworth Kodiaks looked on paper as if it would be a tough matchup for head coach Wiley Allred's talented defensive unit.

The Kodiaks brought to Pasco's Edgar Brown Memorial Stadium a potent rushing attack that had averaged more than 50 points in its last four games, including a 42-14 win in the opening round of the state playoffs.

Looks can be deceiving.

The Knights held the Kodiaks to 45 yards of total offense, including a dismal negative eight yards rushing, in shutting out Cascade 48-0 on Saturday to advance to the state semifinals.

"I thought the defense played extremely well," Allred said of a group that has given up just 15 points in three playoff games this season. "The defense was the key."

It was defense that got the Knights started on the scoreboard as well, with Royal's Dexter Allred recovering a fumble on Cascade's opening possession to set the offense up with a first down at the Kodiaks' 29-yard line.

On fourth-and-6 from the 23, Royal quarterback Austin Allred hit Cash Brown on a short pass to the left side, and the Royal senior wide receiver went the distance to put the Knights up 7-0 with 8:18 to play in the first quarter.

The Knights struck like lightning just nine seconds later, as on the ensuing kickoff Royal special teams player Johnny Barerra knifed through the Cascade wedge and put a vicious hit on the Kodiaks' return man that caused a fumble.

Angel Ledezma recovered the fumble for Royal around the 5-yard line and returned it for a touchdown, shocking the Kodiaks and giving the Knights a big emotional boost.

"That special teams fumble right off the bat was huge," coach Allred said. "I wish we could get that every week.

"Johnny Barrera has been playing great special teams and is an all-around good player," Allred added.

With Royal up 14-0, Cascade put together a drive to get into Royal territory. The Kodiaks got back-to-back pass completions that netted them 37 yards to reach the Royal 40, then lost 2 yards on their next three plays before punting the ball away. It would be the only four plays Cascade ran in Royal territory for the remainder of the game, as Royal's defense completely shut down the Cascade offense.

The Knights added to their lead when running back Hector Ledezma scored from 8 yards out to make it 21-0 with 2:20 to play in the half. Ledezma finished the game with 121 yards rushing and two touchdowns to lead the Knights' ground attack.

Royal's defense got a quick three-and-out on the next Cascade possession, and gave the Knights the ball back with a chance to score before the half.

The Knights took over on their own 44-yard line with 59 seconds on the clock, and got a 36-yard completion down the middle to Brown to set up first down on the Kodiaks' 20 with just 10 ticks left before halftime.

On the next play, quarterback Allred connected with Brown again, this one good for a touchdown that put the game out of reach.

"There was really no pressure on us," coach Allred said of his teams' final scoring drive of the half. "We were happy to go in (at the half) up 21-0."

Austin Allred finished the game 7 of 13 passing for 175 yards and two touchdowns. While the rain didn't allow Allred to have his best game throwing the ball, he played mistake-free football and did a good job of running an offense that moved the ball consistently all day against the Kodiaks.

"Austin played a real good game as far as keeping his composure," coach Allred said of his quarterback, noting he consistently made good decisions on passing plays.

In the second half, Ledezma, Austin Allred and Dexter Allred each had 1-yard touchdown runs to give Royal its final margin of victory.

The Knights move on to face the Cascade Christian Cougars (12-0) this weekend in a state semifinal matchup. The Cougars defeated the Kalama Chinooks 7-0 this weekend to reach the semifinals. The contest will take place at the Tacoma Dome on Friday at 11:30 a.m.

The winner will face either Connell or Montesano in the 1A state championship, a 1 p.m. start on Saturday, Dec. 1.