Royal to host Riverside Saturday in state football playoffs
Freshman starting quarterback Kaden Jenks, completing a pass against Zillah, is one of several freshman and sophomore regulars on the team, however, with a 10-game season under their belts, they will be veterans as the state playoffs open.
Running back Gerard Weyns battles for extra yardage and a first down in the stunner at Zillah.
ROYAL CITY - Royal High School's victory over Zillah last Friday earned the Knights the South Central A Conference's No. 1 seed into the state 1A football playoffs and a home game in the opening round.
Back in their familiar role of state power, the Knights will host the Riverside Rams (8-2) of the Northeast A League on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Rams are riding a five-game winning streak after defeating the Chelan Goats in their league crossover games last Friday.
The Rams jumped out to a 13-0 first half lead before suppressing a Chelan comeback attempt and holding on for a 19-14 victory. Riverside's losses were to Timberlake (Idaho) in week No. 1 and 34-0 to league champion Freeman.
Riverside will look to dual-threat quarterback Sam Zanoni to lead the offense against the Knights. He will be joined in the backfield by potent running back Jacob Collins. Zanoni will target receivers Dallas Shuler and Ryan Cotner through the air.
If Royal (7-3) gets past Riverside, it will face the winner of the undefeated Freeman Scotties and the Riverview Panthers in the quarterfinals the second weekend of the playoffs.
Either way, the Knights will have to build on recent momentum to advance beyond those two. Freeman is averaging 40 points per game while allowing only seven. Royal lost to Riverview in a lopsided mid-season contest.
Other east side matchups this weekend include Meridian (6-4) at Cashmere (9-1) and Okanogan (9-1) at Connell (8-2). Okanogan defeated Connell in a non-league contest in week No. 2 by a 19-6 score.
An interesting non-football note heading into the Riverside matchup is that Royal sophomore running back/linebacker Darrin Miller was a freshman at Riverside last season.
Miller's family moved to Royal over the summer. Both parents teach in the Royal School District, and Miller's father, Randy, is Royal's new varsity wrestling coach.