First round of Royal football playoffs this Friday

ROYAL CITY - Royal High's Knights will open the state 1A football playoffs at home this Friday, and their task will be focus. A 69-7 win over Goldendale last Friday could lead to complacency.

This Friday's opponent is a known - and perhaps unknown - quantity. Royal ripped Cascade, 52-14, on its field to start the season. The Kodiaks have lost only once since, by one point to Cashmere.

"They've matured," said Royal coach Wiley Allred, who expects a playoff effort.

In addition, Cascade has seen the return of a key lineman and a key skill position player who were not available for the opener. At the 1A level, two players can flip a season.

On the other hand, while Royal is wondering what Cascade has, the Kodiaks are surely wondering if the Knights have a weakness. After 10 games, Royal is winning by an average score of 50-5. The average score in the last four games has been 55-2.

If the Knights defeat Cascade, they will advance to a second round game next Friday against the winner of this Friday's Cashmere-Cle Elum game, probably at Moses Lake. CE finished second to Zillah in the South Central A Conference West.

As Goldendale learned last Friday, the Royal offense comes at you from all over the field. If Cascade tries to stop the run, it might get stung through the air. If Cascade tries to stop the pass, it could get steamrolled on the ground.

The Royal quarterback and running backs are all better than capable runners. The receivers can all catch and run, and they are good downfield blockers.

The interior line of tight end Reed Lefler, tackles Collin Christensen and Uriel Carmona and guards Carter Christensen and Johnny Montoya has five all-league performers.

After last Friday, Goldendale may never want to visit Royal again. The Timberwolves lose this game every time, and Friday they were bludgeoned. Royal led 34-0 after one quarter and 55-0 at the half.

When fullback Damien De La Rosa wasn't rolling over and through Goldendale, quarterback Alex Myrick was dropping bombs on the Timberwolves.

Goldendale couldn't stop any of it as Royal accumulated 743 yards of offense. The Royal starters left the field after one half.

Myrick completed 13 of 18 passes for 327 yards and four touchdowns. De La Rosa carried the ball 15 times for 148 yards and four scores.

Royal opened the scoring avalanche with a 37-yard pass between Myrick and Christian Guerrero. It came right back with a four-yard scoring run by De Ls Rosa. Then De La Rosa rambled in from 25 yards.

The rest of Royal's scoring was:

* Laddie Goroski 24 pass from Myrick (Guerrero kick).

* Brady Dixon 14 pass from Myrick (Guerrero kick).

* De La Rosa 7 run (Guerrero kick).

* Kent Christensen 4 pass from Myrick (Guerrero kick).

* De La Rosa 10 run (Guerrero kick).

* Carter Allred 57 run (Jose Ponce kick).

* Lucas Denney 5 run (Jair Garcia kick).

* Miguel Ayala 7 run (Ponce kick).

The Knights rolled to 387 yards on the ground. Miguel Ayala had his best game of the season with 109 yards in eight carries. Other rushers were Carter Allred, 2-49, Myrick, 5-20, Manny Quintero, 4-41, and Guerrero, 4-20.

The team's 356 passing yards included a 2-3-0-29 night for Chase Christensen.

Seven receivers, led by Kent Christensen, Laddie Goroski and Brady Dixon with three each, caught passes. Christensen gained 76 yards, Goroski 86 and Dixon 66. Guerrero, 2-52, De La Rosa, 2-46, Ponce, 1-18, and Garcia, 1-11, caught passes.

Not to be overshadowed, the Royal defense was equally all over the field. Twenty-seven players had at least one tackle.

Marcos Morales led the way with six tackles and two assists. Kent Christensen had four tackles, including one for loss. Luis Garcia had five tackles, and Emilio Bustos had three tackles, including one sack.

Linebacker Mario Coria, who played only in the second half, had three tackles.