No rest for the Knights this Friday night

ROYAL CITY - If it appeared to you last Friday night that Zillah was trying to make up for past football defeats at the hands Royal High School, your impression was probably correct.

It should be more of the same this Friday when Royal visits River View. River View has been manhandled by the Knights many times over many years.

The Panthers sought their revenge in the state playoffs last fall and nearly pulled it off. But they lost, 31-28, and Royal advanced to the state championship game.

This Friday will be the best chance River View has had for revenge. The Panthers have practically the same team from last year, and Royal is rebuilding.

Reading the Panthers' record after four games is a lot like reading Zillah's. They have pulverized Highland, 52-14, LaSalle, 49-13, Kiona-Benton, 54-0, and Warden, 48-21.

The good news is that Royal faced a major storm last weekend and survived. And the boys grew in skill, stature and resolve.

"Our kids never gave up. They battled to the end," Coach Wiley Allred said.

Allred gave Zillah its due. He said the Leopards are deserving of the No. 1 ranking in the state.

Allred said this is the best Zillah team he has ever seen and as good as some of the teams he has coached. But Allred does not believe Zillah, or River View, is out of the reach of his boys.

"Our kids can get better," he said.

Last Friday, Zillah was simply on a mission. The Leopards scored on two big early plays and led 17-0 after one quarter.

A touchdown pass of 23 yards from Kaden Jenks to Luis Garcia closed the gap to 17-7, but the Leopards pulled away again. The score rose to 45-7 before Royal scored again on a run by Darrin Miller.

Miller finished the game with 81 yards on 22 carries. Jenks completed 11 of 29 passes for 117 yards. Garcia caught three passes for 40 yards.