Victory for the Knights over Granger
ROYAL CITY - After spotting the visiting Granger Spartans an early 6-0 lead, the Royal Knights maintained their composure and reeled off 35 straight points to secure a 35-14 win on Friday night.
In fact, it took the Knights only two offensive plays to take a 7-6 lead after Darrin Miller returned a squib kickoff 25 yards to the Granger 38 yard line.
Miller then promptly followed up Miguel Ayala's 8-yard sweep to the right by working the opposite edge on a mirror play to cover the remaining 25 yards for the Knights' first score.
An outstanding block by pulling-guard Tony Mercado paved the way, and a perfectly executed block at the goal line on the last remaining defender by Joe Lang ensured Miller's untouched passage into the end zone.
The Royal defense cranked up the pressure on the next Granger possession. On third down and 25 yards to go, the Spartan quarterback rolled to his right looking for a down field receiver.
Defensive tackle Salvador Cavazos powered through the offensive front to pressure the quarterback and force an errant throw. Opportunistic defensive back Kai Jenks snagged the pass and returned it 11 yards for his first interception of the night.
Four plays later Jose Ponce hauled in his 13th touchdown of the season on the first pass play by the Knights to extend the lead to 14-6.
Unlike many previous opponents, the Spartans didn't fold despite giving up their early lead to the heavily favored Knights. Despite being outnumbered and outflanked they, like their namesakes of old, continued to battle with a gritty determination.
Granger forced and recovered two fumbles, forced the Knights to punt deep in their own territory, and forced a turnover-on-downs inside the red zone to keep Royal at bay for the rest of the half. Two interceptions by Ponce for the Knights prevented Granger from capitalizing.
"Tonight was a playoff game," coach Wiley Allred said. "The winner moves on, and the loser is done for the season. Granger played like a playoff team tonight. We didn't always play great, but we played hard and it was enough to win."
Royal extended its lead to 21-6 midway through the third quarter. Ponce made a spectacular catch inside the Granger 1-yard line despite a pass interference call on the defensive back. Kaden Jenks called his own number and wedged his way into the end zone on the next play.
On Granger's next possession, it mixed run and pass to take the ball to the Royal 11-yard line and was on the verge of narrowing the lead back down to a one touchdown margin. Instead, the Royal defense countered with its shining moment of the game.
With the ball on the right hash mark, the Granger quarterback dropped back and briefly looked down field to his right before turning to his left to focus on his running back flaring out of the backfield to the wide side of the field.
Instead of his running back, what he saw was Mercado barreling down on him. Mercado's pressure forced the pass to float in the air.
It didn't float for long. Safety Kai Jenks was already moving into position to defend the play and elevated to snatch the ball from the air. After avoiding an attempted tackle by the intended receiver, Jenks raced 85 yards for the defensive touchdown.
"I saw Tony getting pressure on the quarterback, and the pass came right to me," Kai said.
"It was the biggest play of the game," Allred said. "It started with great pressure by Mercado. Kai made a great play and it had a big impact."
Ayala gained 118 yards on 20 carries to bring his regular season totals to 1152 yards and 15 touchdowns. He extended his streak of 100-yard rushing games to seven.
Miller added 65 yards and two touchdowns to bring his season total to 16. Kaden closed the regular schedule with more than 1,500 yards passing. He has thrown 25 touchdowns versus just six interceptions.
The Knights will have to be firing on all cylinders this Friday as they host the Lakeside Eagles of Nine Mile Falls in the first round of the state playoffs.
Lakeside boasts an 8-2 record, with its only losses to Colville and Freeman.