63 Royal knights attend Eastern Washington Summer football camp

ROYAL CITY - The Royal Knights football team continues to build momentum toward its goal of finishing the 2014 season with a State Championship.

Sixty-three Knights made the trek to Eastern Washington University in Cheney to attend team camp during the last week of June. They were joined by teams from all corners of Washington State, as well as Canada and Alaska.

The Knights worked on individual position drills, participated in team drills and tested their mettle against schools of all sizes and classifications. Most importantly, this year's edition of the Knights had the opportunity to come together as a unit over four days without outside distractions or interruptions.

Each of the first three days included a morning session and an afternoon session. Each of those sessions included direct instruction and repetition by individual position as taught by the EWU coaching staff and players. Each session culminated with a scrimmage against another participating school.

The final morning of camp dispensed with drills and instruction and proceeded directly to scrimmage time. In what has become tradition, a number of Knight boosters and parents arrived that morning to support the team.

Scrimmage opponents for the Knights included Woodrow Wilson (Class 3A, Tacoma), Interlake (Class 3A, Bellevue), Eastmont (Class 4A, East Wenatchee), Prairie (Class 3A, Battle Ground), Eisenhower (Class 4A, Yakima), and North Pole (North Pole, Alaska).

The concentrated practice and scrimmage time allowed the Knights coaching staff to successfully experiment with position depth and interchangeable parts. It also afforded the younger freshman and junior varsity squads enough live snaps to gain valuable experience and familiarity with the coaches and schemes.

The Freshmen initially found the transition from middle school to high school intensity somewhat difficult. They were often paired with freshman teams from much larger schools or junior varsity squads with more experience in their own systems.

The entire Knight coaching staff rallied to them with instruction and encouragement and, by the end of camp, they were playing with sufficient intensity and confidence to carry them into the coming season.

The junior varsity arrived with confidence that grew throughout the four days, ultimately sending the message to the varsity Knights that no job is secure heading into the season.

The returning varsity starters from last season also showed significant improvement. Sophomore QB Kaden Jenks impressed with increased poise and mobility while delivering deep passes with touch and mid-range passes with velocity.

Junior running back Darren Miller showed great field vision on both inside and outside runs. Joe Lang turned heads on multiple occasions at cornerback with his dual ability to cover in open space and be a physical run stopper on the outside edge.

Jose Ponce and Daniel Cuevas both showed an innate ability in open space to avoid would-be tacklers while accelerating up field. After one particularly electrifying display by the diminutive Ponce, which left multiple confused and disoriented defenders in his wake, one of the EWU players watching from the sideline wondered aloud: "What just happened?"

Returning offensive linemen Payten Stakkeland and Teddy Mead performed as expected. Those competing for positions vacated by graduated seniors showed enough promise that depth shouldn't be an issue if they continue to progress.

Senior Gerard Weyns captained the defense as both a vocal leader and a seasoned linebacker. The linebacking corps read plays quickly and played downhill, often meeting opposing runners at the line of scrimmage or in the backfield.

The breakout performance was turned in by Junior Sam Christensen. He is a bit of a utility player who can be plugged into multiple roles and schemes.

Sam played well as the third member of the receiving corps but shone brightest when asked to step in at outside linebacker on defense. At times it seemed that he disappeared at the snap of the ball and reappeared a fraction of a second later in the opponent backfield. He made tackles, knocked down passes, and generally wreaked havoc for offensive coordinators throughout the week.

The next step on the march to the Tacoma Dome will be taken outside the public view and inside the weight room. The coaching staff wasted no time, dividing the team into groups of five or six before camp had even concluded.

A challenge was issued to see which group will have the highest percentage of weight room attendance between now and the start of fall practice, which will start during the third week of August.