First quarter avalanche does Ki-Be in, 56-7

ROYAL CITY — Hoping to be the team that upset No.1 Royal, Kiona-Benton ran a kickoff back midway through the first quarter to pull within 7-6 of the visiting Knights last Friday.

It was a jolt to Knight pride, and Royal came alive for a 28-point avalanche that smothered the Bears 35-6 after one quarter and 56-7 well before the end of the game.

It was a typical game for Royal this year. Allow a few points, score a bunch and win.

Royal will finish the South Central A Conference East season this Friday at home against Burbank. The Knights could win this one with reserves only, but they need to give the starters playing time to keep them sharp for the post-season.

The Coyotes are 0-3 in the conference, losing to Connell, 63-0, Ki-Be, 67-32 and River View, 31-21.

The final game of the year, a non-leaguer, will be played at Nielsen Stadium on Oct. 30. The Kodiaks are 2-5 for the season.

The Ki-Be game was a wipeout of the Bears, but you have to give Vladimir Rizin of the Bears his due. After Sam Christensen scored the game’s first touchdown, he baffled the best team in the state with his runback.

Rizin caught Jose Ponce’s kickoff at the 7-yard line near the right hash mark. He ran across the field toward the left sideline and turned upfield.

Then he danced left and right, knifing through holes in the Royal kickoff team. His final turns were to the center of the field, then toward the goal posts.

Challenged to respond, the Knights’ Ponce ran the next kickoff back to the Ki-Be 47. Then the Knights ran a couple of plays to set up running back Joe Lang for a 24-yard touchdown down the left sideline.

That made the score 14-6 and sprang the avalanche that sealed the victory. Within the second half of the first quarter, Royal scored four times.

The scoring started with the Lang dash. It continued with an 18-yard pass play from quarterback Kaden Jenks to Corbin Christensen, a 40-yard Corbin Christensen run and a 6-yard Lang bull rush.

That made the score 49-6, but the Knights got the ball once more with time to score. They took it to the Ki-Be 1-yard line but, with 1:24 left in the half, Jenks fumbled on a sneak attempt and turned the ball over to the Bears.

Ki-Be fans cheered as if they had won a game. The Bears came out of halftime excited about the second. That made no difference. The Bears lost the second half, 7-0, to the Royal reserves. Tight end Sawyer Stakkeland made the lone second-half score.

The sequence of possessions in the first quarter was aided by fumbles created by the hard-hitting Royal defense. The first score of the game, a 9-yard run by Sam Christensen, came after a Ki-Be fumble.

Senior Sam Christensen had perhaps the best game of his career, scoring three touchdowns, including a 70-yard punt return. Sophomore Corbin Christensen, rushed for 59 yards and caught three passes for 73 yards and a touchdown.

“Corbin is very talented and just a sophomore, and Sam is one the best players I have coached. He does everything,” coach Wiley Allred said.

Ponce a starting wide receiver, did not score from the field, but he was perfect on eight extra point attempts. He also ran back the kickoff that ignited the first period scoring frenzy.

Joe Lang had a good night with three rushing touchdowns. However, he couldn’t play all of the game because of the mis-match and gained on 69 yards on 11 carries. Nine ball carriers played. Seven receivers played.

The tackling was led by Carson Gilbert with six stops. Adrian Trinidad had two tackles and three assists, as did Juan Garcia. Valente Cortez had 2-1 and Kaden Jenks 2.

The defense held the Bears to 82 total yards and minus-1 rushing. Royal rambled to 255 on the ground and 140 through the air.

Jenks had a near perfect night at quarterback. He hit on nine of 11 passes for two touchdowns, and he was not intercepted. Corbin Christensen completed 2-2 passes for 11 yards.