Royal defense carries the day in win over Colville

ROYAL CITY — Royal coach Wiley Allred will tell you it’s a new day with a new team, they aren’t trying to defend anything. The Knights are just trying to win a 1A state championship.

They sure are playing like a team with tradition on their side. Quarterback Kaden Jenks passed for two touchdowns and rushed for two more to help No.1-ranked Royal (11-0) to a 27-6 victory over Colville in the first round of the 1A state football tournament.

The defending 1A champions, who are looking to win back-to-back state championships for the first time since 2004-05, host La Salle on Friday night at David Nielsen Memorial Field in the quarterfinals. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

“Last year was last year,” said Allred, whose team has won 23 straight games since losing to Colville in the 2014 quarterfinals. “We have to play a little better offensively. I think we’re capable. We didn’t play smart today, but we played hard.”

Jenks was 10-of-23 for 254 yards with a pair of 44-yard touchdown passes in the second quarter. Running back Danny Cuevas hauled in the first one on a bubble screen and weaved his way through the Indians (7-4) defense for the touchdown as the Knights broke a scoreless game with 9:43 left in the second quarter.

Jenks found 6-foot-3 junior Corbin Christensen for another 44-yard strike to make it a two touchdown lead. The 6-2, 215-pound senior also had touchdown runs of 2 and 3 yards in the second half. But it was the Knight’s defense that carried the day.

Christensen intercepted a John Knight pass on the 1-yard line as the Indians pushed into the red zone to tie the game in the second quarter. On the next Colville possession, Issac Ellis stepped front of a pass for the interception, giving Royal possession near midfield with 5:44 remaining in the first half. Jenks made the scoring connection to Christensen to give Royal the momentum.

The two interceptions defined the first half, but what defined the game was a goal-line stand to open the fourth quarter when Colville had first-and-goal on the 10 and was denied.

Knight set it up with a 65-yard pass play to Jakob Larson, giving the Indians possession the Royal 22. The Colville drive included a fourth-down conversion that gave the Tribe first-and-goal on the 10. They had a third-and-goal on the 1 yard line, but the interior of the Royal defense stuffed Larson for no gain. The Indians were denied one more time when Royal rose up to shut down the quarterback keeper.

“The defense was great today,” Christensen said. “We just relied on each other and pushed each other to do our best.”

Royal defensive tackle Raynor Beierle, a 6-1, 260-pound junior, was at the point of attack on the stand.

“It was a matter of who was going to get their pads lower than the other team,” Beierle said. “Effort wins games. We watched the ball and were ready to get off first. Our defensive line was great. We just crawled right through to stop it.”

The Royal defense carried the day with the interception on the goal line and the interception to set up a scoring strike in the first half. But the stand defined a team willing to do whatever it takes to make it back to the championship game.

“I thought coach (Jeremy) Scroggins did a great job preparing us,” Jenks said. “We played tough and physical on the defensive side. With the goal line stand, it was one of those situations where we dug deep. It’s just pure exhilaration to know that you stopped a team on the goal line and kept them out of the end zone.”

Score by quarters Colville 0 6 0 0 — 6 Royal 0 14 7 6 — 27

Scoring summary R — Danny Cuevas 44 pass from Kaden Jenks (Alonzo Hernandez kick), 9:43 R — Corbin Christensen 44 pass from Jenks (Hernandez kick), 3:30 C — Noah Bagley 1 run (kick failed) 10.2 R — Jenks 2 run (Hernandez kick), 9:39 R — Jenks 3 run (kick failed), 2:12