One final great game for Royal Knight Kaden Jenks Royal tops Connell, 25-10, for state 1A football crown

TACOMA — Royal High School concluded its second unbeaten football season in a row and won its second successive state 1A championship at the Tacoma Dome Saturday with 25-10 win over SCAC East rival Connell.

That gives one of the top football programs in the state seven state titles in 10 state final appearances. It was Royal’s second time winning back-to-back titles.

“It was a total team effort,” coach Wiley Allred said. “Our offensive line protection was our best of the year, led by Juan “Kiko” Garcia, Raynor Beierle, Ramses Gonzalez, Juan Hernandez, and our center Tyler Dorsing, who was consistent all year snapping the ball. They won lots of tough individual battles every play.”

“Danny Cuevas, Alonso Hernandez, and Isaac Ellis shared time at running back, helping give Kaden protection and battling for some tough yards,” he added.

All of that is true, but there was a lead Knight. Quarterback Kaden Jenks had the best game of his four-year career. He had a total offense of 388 yards, and he played just as hard on defense.

This game put Royal fans on edge at the start. Receiving the opening kickoff, Connell drove 70 yards smartly to the end zone in seven plays.

The Eagles shoved the Knights around at will. They scored on a pass from quarterback Brian Hawkins to tight Steven Kroontje three and a half minutes into the game to take a 7-0 lead.

Then Royal put its fans at ease. Starting at the Knights’ 35-yard line, Jenks passed to Juan Niebla at the 38. He missed Corbin Christensen on his next throw but then found Niebla again, crossing left to right. Niebla turned upfield and outran three defenders to the end zone. It was 7-7.

“Juan Niebla caught the first two passes and set the tone for the receivers,” Allred said.

Connell mounted another drive but, this time, the Knights held on third and goal at the 5, sacking Hawkins at the 9. Luis Ramos gave Connell a 10-7 lead with a 25-yard field goal.

Royal responded with a 68-yard drive that spanned the first and second quarters, ending in a 25-yard field goal by Niebla. The score was 10-10. The drive featured a Jenks pass to Christensen from the Connell 35 to the 6.

The Knights’ defense continued to struggle with the Eagles’ offense, but it kept the Eagles at bay to halftime.

The next Connell drive ended when Christensen intercepted a long pass at the Royal 3. The final Eagles drive of the half ended when Juan Ojeda intercepted a third and 6 pass and returned it nine yards to the Royal 41.

Everything changed after intermission. The Royal defense came full bloom and suffocated Connell the rest of the way.

“One key moment of the game was Kaden’s hit on Steven Kroontje, jarring the ball loose,” Allred said. “Other key moments were being fortunate to recover our two fumbles in the second half. Also, Coach Jeremy Scroggins defensive adjustments for the game and at halftime.”

Connell went six plays and a punt, three and a punt, three and a punt, four and turnover on downs and five and turnover on downs. Hawkins was limited to two completions for 10 attempts.

That last stop came after Connell moved the ball from its 10 to the Royal 18 in one play that included a face mask penalty. One of Connell’s short drives was the result of a nine-yard sack of Hawkins by linebacker Isaac Ellis.

“They finally went into a set we were looking for, and it resulted in the sack,” Allred said.

While the defense was taking control of Connell, Jenks started turning up the offense. With 6:58 left in the third period, he guided the Knights on a six-play, 65-yard scoring drive to make the score 17-10. He connected with Christensen from 22 yards on a pass on which Corbin had to fight for the ball.

“Corbin did his usual, making the exceptional look easy,” Allred said.

With 3:25 left in the frame, Jenks took his boys on a five-play, 50-yard drive he capped with a one-yard sneak. Christensen connected with C.J. Quintero in the slanting outward in end zone on a flea flicker for a 2-point conversion and a 25-10 lead.

“C.J Quintero caught two tough (non-scoring) passes in the third quarter,” Allred said.

From then on, Royal played ball control, trying to run down the clock and minimize the opportunities for mistakes. The teams traded two brief drives. Most of the carries were keepers by Jenks.

Then, starting at the 5:38 mark of the final period, Jenks ran the ball eight times for 40 yards and three first downs. He took a knee twice to run out the clock.

Jenks, the most prolific passer in Royal history, completed 12-24 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns. He carried the ball 20 times for 147 yards and a touchdown.

Royal’s total offense was 398 yards. Connell’s total offense was 294 yards.

Royal’s receivers were Christensen 4-80, Niebla 2-65, Quintero, 2-55, Adrian Trinidad 2-18, Isaac Ellis 1-17 and Ojeda 1-6.

Running the ball for Royal were Niebla 1-4, Alonzo Hernandez 2-3, Danny Cuevas 4-2 and Ellis 3-1.

Jenks was the leader on defense with eight solo tackles and one assist. Ellis was right behind at 5-and-3, and Alonzo Hernandez went 2-3. Juan Hernandez went 2-2, Niebla went 2-1, Quintero went 2-1, and Jhonnifer Garcia went 1-5.

Adrian Banda, Lorenzo Myrick, Johnny Guadarrama and Jack Diaz had one solo each, Christensen and Trinidad had two assists each, and Ojeda and Gonzales had one assist each.

After the game was ended, Allred was able to catch his breath and assess what makes Royal football Royal football. He pointed to a group of boys whose names were rarely heard during the season.

“One of our best examples throughout his career was Sawyer Stakkeland, who was injured the second game of this season,”Allred said. “He exemplified how to play every down full speed from the time he was a freshman.”

“Wyatt Allred, Addin Felker and Javier Martinez are three other seniors who exemplified great qualities of leadership, great attitude and effort every day at practice, pushing themselves to be their best,” Allred added. “I was fortunate to be their coach the past four years.”