Two minutes of perfect football

If Wahluke High School football Coach Brycen Bye plans to show film to his players, he needs only to play two minutes from the victory over White Swan - again, and again, and again.

Those two minutes could not have been played any better. I'm certain Bye has no idea where they originated.

I'm guessing they came from is own pregame speech to the players. On the sideline, you could see the players itching to get into action.

After kicking off to the Cougars, the Warriors knocked the Cougars backward for three straight plays, forcing a punt on fourth down and 20 from about the 20-yard line.

Rattled, White Swan kicked the ball out of bounds at about the 40. A couple of plays later, the Warriors scored from 27 yards on scamper up the middle and to the right sideline by running back Alex Anaya. There was 9:58 remaining in the first period.

Then the game settled into a typical White Swan-Wahluke battle. The Cougars snatched away the momentum midway through the first period and started pushing the Warriors backward. They led 14-7 at the half.

There was another momentum shift late in the third quarter. Wahluke quarterback Arturo Salazar connected with running back Steven Machuca on fourth and 31 for a first down, and the Warriors re-ignited. They played a lot like the first two minutes the rest of the way.

Meanwhile up at Royal City, the fans enjoyed the type of game they rarely see during the season. Their team won with a late field goal.

The irony is that during a practice session coach Wiley Allred had joked about people saying he doesn't like field goals.

Although Bernal provided the winning points, this was a victory for Allred's program. Used to getting their way, the Royal players willed their way to victory. All of the teaching from that large, dedicated coaching staff came through.

I was on the Cascade sideline when the Kodiaks got the ball near midfield at 5:43 with their last real chance to win the game. Sensing a rare defeat of the Royal Knights, the coach encouraged his players.

"You can win this game," he shouted.

But this was Royal, and the defense became tougher than ever. The Knights knocked Cascade backward and forced a punt with about 2:40 left.

Cascade tried to hang on for overtime, but Royal's program and history were too much to handle.

This is a new Royal football team after all of the 2013 graduations. The game reminded me of a comment made by an assistant coach during that same practice session.

"We're going to win our share of games, but they're not going to be blowouts like before," he said.