No. 1-ranked Zillah awaits Royal this Friday

ROYAL CITY - It will be a top 5 game Friday when Royal visits Zillah in high school football, but Royal will not be ranked No. 1.

That designation will go to Zillah, which has run roughshod over its opposition in the first three games. The Leopards have crushed Wapato, 63-0, Naches, 64-7, and Kiona-Benton, 52-6.

"They're pretty tough. They're pretty solid everywhere," Royal Coach Wiley Allred said.

The Knights have gotten off to a 3-0 start as well, but they have not dominated anyone. However, their history should be enough motivation for Zillah.

Allred knows Zillah will come head hunting and has told his boys they have earned the targets they are likely to be wearing on their backs Friday night.

Friday's game should answer a lot of questions for Allred. He should find out if he has filled every one of the holes in this rebuilding project that is the 2013 season. His team did start to come together last Friday with a 35-7 victory over Warden.

"We played hard defense," he said. "We were especially tough in the second quarter. The offensive line did a nice job. We controlled the running game."

Indeed.

The Knights rushed for 236 yard on 45 carries for a 5-yard per carry average. That was their best effort of the season.

Sophomore running back Darrin Miller led the charge with 119 yards on 22 carries. Miguel Ayala added 55 yards on eight carries, and quarterback Carter Allred picked up 47 yards on six carries.

The passing offense, on the other hand, left something to be desired. The Knights completed only six of 16 passes for 42 yards, and there were three interceptions.

The Knights turned the ball over five times total, fumbling three times and losing two of those fumbles.

Despite those struggles, Royal scored early and often in the first half. The Knights led, 28-0, at intermission and built the lead to 35-0 before giving up a touchdown in the fourth period.

Before the struggles, Carter Allred completed two touchdown passes, and Kaden Jenks connected for one.

Allred hit Jose Ponce with a 16-yarder early the first quarter. He found Luis Garcia for an 11-yarder five minutes later. Jenks completed a 6-yard pass to Ponce with two seconds left in the half to make the score 28-0.

The touchdown that made the score 21-0 was scored on a 15-yard run by Carter Allred. Miller made the score 35-0 in the third quarter with a touchdown run from 9 yards.

The defense was led by the six tackles of linebacker Emilio Bustos. Joe Lang turned in 4 1/2 tackles, and Miguel Ayala had three. The team had seven tackles for loss, intercepted two passes and recovered one fumble.