Defending champs shine bright against Knights

CONNELL - There was no doubt that the Royal Knights football team entered this year's version of their annual tussle with rivals Connell playing some extremely good football.

On Friday night the two programs locked horns once again with the South Central Athletic Conference (SCAC) East division title on the line.

Both shared two things in common coming in - a loss to Cashmere and a desire to beat the other.

The one thing Royal didn't have that Connell had, was running back Matt Hadley.

For Royal, that one difference gave Connell the one up the hosts needed as Hadley ran for 303 yards on 25 carries and scored three touchdowns on the ground and one via special teams to lead his team past the Knights 50-14 and retain the SCAC East title.

Connell (7-1, 5-0), the defending state champions, led 26-7 at halftime and were able to hold off a Royal (6-2, 4-1) squad which had shown a penchant of big offensive outputs until this evening.

"They are the state champs with the same offensive lineman, tight ends and running back, so it's more of a credit to them," Royal head coach Wiley Allred said. "We ran into a buzzsaw and they just steamrolled us. We turned the ball over in our endzone and then they scored off of the punt and kept up the pressure."

Allred was referring to the first quarter where his Knights were forced into a safety to give Connell a 2-0 lead and then Hadley returned the ensuing kickoff 64 yards to build the cushion to 9-0.

It was 19-0 on Hadley's 20-yard touchdown run, before Royal got on the board when Knights quarterback Alex Myrick connected with Dylan Delay on a 26-yard scoring strike to make things interesting.

But Connell showed its mettle, responding with Hadley's 47-yard scoring run before the intermission and the SCAC East crown nestled warmly back on top of their heads for at least another season.

"The differences were their strength, size and experience up front and the fact they have a college division one running back," Allred said. "Our kids looked a little tentative. Now we need to focus on KiBe and regroup."

One thing Royal will have to correct is the number of dropped Myrick passes and their ability to score inside the redzone. The Knights were inside the Connell 10-yard line three times in the first half but could score only once.

Royal's other score came on a nine-yard pass from Myrick to Kyle Spartveit in the fourth quarter to make the score 36-14.

Delay finished with 52 yards rushing on 11 carries and Myrick went 16-for-36 for 163 yards passing.

Shaq Ledezma caught seven passes for 64 yards to lead the Knights receivers.

"We played a really good team and got beat," Allred said. "I don't think there is anything good about this. Our kids know we can play better and play better with them."

Royal hosts Kiona-Benton Friday for the No. 2 seed out of the East in next week's SCAC playoff crossover match-ups and the right to host that contest.