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Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Royal defensive lineman Rams Gonzalez sacks Deer Park quarterback Conner O’Dea for the loss during the second half of Saturday’s Class 1A state semifinal game in Spokane. The Knights held the Stags to just 69 yards total offense.
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Royal cornerback Juan Ojeda knocks the ball away from Deer Park’s reciever Everett Pierce during Saturday’s Class 1A state semifinal game in Spokane.
SPOKANE — Royal quarterback Kaden Jenks stood at midfield Saturday afternoon at Gonzaga Prep throwing 50-yard warm-up passes to Corbin Christensen standing on the goal line. They went down in perfect spiral and came back a little wobbly.
It didn’t make much difference, Jenks was throwing them and Christensen was catching them and that would prove deadly during their 1A state semifinal game against Deer Park.
In the stands across the way, the Stags’ pep band was blasting out a rendition of The Rolling Stones anthem, ”Paint it Black.” On the field, it was all black as the Knights (12-0) registered their most complete and dominating performance of the season with a 56-0 victory to advance to the 1A state championship game for the second straight season.
Their victory sets them up with a true test of Washington state football talent and a rematch with Connell on Saturday at 10 a.m. in the Tacoma Dome.
“We just came out and executed like we should every game,” said Jenks, who threw four of his five touchdown passes in the first half, including three to Christensen in the second quarter. “The coaches were calling great plays and we got it done.”
The Knight defense has been playing lights out for the past month, allowing just 40 points in the last four games combined. The offense has been playing well, it was just a matter of when it would catch up to a dominant defense.
On Saturday, on the home field of the Bullpups, the Royal Knights played like the Big Dogs and hit Deer Park (10-2) with the complete package. The offense put up five touchdowns in the first half. The Jenks to Christensen tandem was good for touchdown passes of 29, 38 and 18 yards in the second quarter. Christensen had a pass interception on the defensive side and the Knights special teams blocked a punt. It was game was over by halftime.
“I love throwing to Corbin. He’s just a great player. You know he’s always going to win on his route and he makes the play,” Jenks said.
That feeling is mutual on the receiving end in the Royal passing game. Having a gunslinger for a quarterback is always good thing said Isaac Ellis, who got loose on a seam route for a 43-yard touchdown to make it 14-0.
“We got off the ball low and hard with our running game early and that opened up the passing lanes,” Ellis said. “It’s great having Kaden at quarterback. You don’t have to wait long for the ball to get there. I ran the seam route right down the middle and Kaden put it right on me.”
The numbers speak for themselves, and Saturday’s statistics spoke volumes for a team that just rolled to its 25th straight win since losing to Colville in the 2014 quarterfinals.
The offense scored at will, even the Royal reserves got in on the action. Sawyer Jenks rushed for a touchdown. Juan Niebla was on the receiving end of a 1-yard scoring pass.
The Royal defense was a thing of beauty in pitching its first shutout of the season. They allowed only 69 yards in total offense and just one rushing yard in 48 minutes of play.
Deer Park didn’t get a single first down in the second half. On their first possession of the third quarter, the Stags punted on fourth-and-31. They punted on fourth-and-18 on their second, so their first two possessions of the second half resulted in minus-49 yards. They finished up the third quarter with minus-42 yards of offense.
“We played with our hair on fire today. If we play for each other and pick each other up, this is what can happen,” said Rams Gonzales, who had one of the Knights’ three sacks. “Our pass rush just kept fighting, kept the legs churning. We kept the pressure up all game long.”
Jenks passed for five touchdowns and rushed for another. On his six-touchdown day, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound senior completed 12-of-15 passes for 229 yards. Danny Cuevas rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown. Jenks added 60 yards and a touchdown. Christensen caught four balls for 87 yards and three touchdowns. Ellis had just the one catch, but it was for a score. Alonzo Hernandez was 8-of-8 on PAT kicks.
Defensively, Gonzales and C.J. Quintero had a sack apiece. Alonzo and Juan Hernandez shared a sack for the Knights, who will be playing in the 1A state championship game for the eighth time in the past 22 years, trying to become the first Royal team to win back-to-back titles since 2004-05.
Score by quarters Royal 14 21 7 14 — 56 Deer Park 0 0 0 0 — 0
Scoring summary R — Kaden Jenks 10 run (Alonzo Hernandez kick), 7:45 R — Isaac Ellis 43 pass from Jenks (Hernandez kick), 2:59 R — Corbin Christensen 29 pass from Jenks (Hernandez kick), 11:50 R — Christensen 38 pass from Jenks (Hernandez kick), 9:57 R — Christensen 18 pass from Jenks (Hernandez kick), :29.1 R — Danny Cuevas 30 run (Hernandez kick), 3:42 R — Sawyer Jenks 6 run (Hernandez kick), 5:15