Royal Knights make history with third straight 1A championship

The Knights have been inked in the annals of the high school history books after a 33-27 victory over the Meridian Trojans in the Gridiron Classic Championship game Saturday in the Tacoma Dome.

Royal now joins Raymond High as the second 1A school to win three straight titles. The Seagulls, coached by Jon Wahl, accomplished the feat in ’74-’76.

“It was a real hard fought game — and a great win for us,” coach Wiley Allred said. “We had some outstanding performances by some kids who are probably completely worn out. They played it the right way. Both teams (offense and defense) helped each other out — they really played their hearts out.”

It was a real donnybrook of a back and forth battle that tested the wills of both undefeated teams that had combined for 26 wins on the season.

The game was scoreless through the first eight and a half minutes as both offenses sputtered. Corbin Christensen gave Royal the first break of the contest when he intercepted a Simon Burkett pass near midfield and returned the ball to the Meridian 35-yard line.

But the Knights couldn’t convert and turned the ball over on downs after three Sawyer Jenks pass attempts into the Trojan end zone were off their marks. Jenks redeemed himself when he connected up with Christensen on a 10-yard pitch and catch with 3:47 left in the opening quarter (PAT) to put Royal up top 7-0.

Meridian evened the score 7-all 22 seconds into the second quarter when Bryce VandenHaa hauled in a 4-yard Burkett pass (PAT). It looked as though Royal was only going to give up a field goal on a fourth and goal from the 7, but an off sides penalty gave Meridian a first down at the Knights 2.

Royal regained the lead, 14-7, with a little over two minutes to go in the first half on a 44-yard flea-flicker from Christensen to Angel Farias.

A 32-yard return on the ensuing pooch kick put the ball at the Royal 43 with 2 minutes to go before intermission. Meridian scored 60 seconds later on a 15-yard Burkett scramble. The kick was wide right, but the Trojans had closed the gap to 14-13.

The Knights responded with the first of three Alonso Hernandez TDs when he hit pay dirt on a 1-yard run with 14 ticks on the clock and Royal took a 21-13 lead into the locker room at the break.

Meridian had first possession of the third quarter and turned it into a quick score on the second play; a 56-yard bomb from Burkett to Dawson Logan. The Trojans knotted it at 21 a controversial 2-point pass play that should’ve been ruled incomplete when the ball bounced off the turf, but the officials didn’t see it that way.

Royal failed to gain a first down on its first possession of the second half and dodged a huge bullet when a holding call on Meridian negated at punt return for a touchdown. A pass interference call on the Knights placed the pigskin at the Trojan 47. Meridian was on the verge of taking the lead when Farias picked off a Burkett pass at the Royal 25 and stopped the scoring threat.

The Knights drove the length of the field capped off by a 2-yard Hernandez TD run. The extra point– attempt was blocked and Royal led by six with just under four minutes left in the quarter.

Burkett’s second rushing touchdown (kick wide right) in the opening moments of the fourth quarter tied it 27-27.

Hernandez found the end zone for a third time on a 7-yard run with 2:32 to go. The kick was blocked for a second time and the Knights held a slim 33-27 lead.

Royals defense came up large again when Hernandez put a big hit on Burkett and jarred the ball loose and junior Jack Diaz recovered the fumble at the Meridian 23 with two minutes left in the game.

All the Knights had to do was gain a first down to end it, but they could not and the Trojans took over at their 15 with 38 seconds on the clock.

Burkett completed a pass to midfield with seven seconds to go and then got off a Hail Mary on the last play that fell incomplete near the Royal end zone.

“That was a huge play — a big stick by Alonso and Diaz to come up with it, but we sure would’ve loved to finish it off with a first down,” Allred said. “But we didn’t want to take any chances — so we kind of relied on the defense at the end and they came through for us. They had a long way to go with little time left and had no time outs, but had four injuries in a row and were able to stop the clock and that put them in position for the long throw at the end.”

Royal keeps the state’s longest current win streak alive with its 41st victory. The Knights last loss was to Colville in the quarterfinal round of the 2014 state playoffs. Allred runs his win loss record as head coach of the Knights to an impressive 212-26, which ranks him among the best in the state.

“The winning tradition was started here before me — we’ve just continued it,” Allred said. “We’ve got a great staff — I am just one piece of it — it’s been fun to be a part of it.”

Allred and crew have made it to the big dance 11 times in the past 23 years and have been crowned champion eight times.

Diaz, who came up with the fumble recover late in the ball game, was quick to credit his teammates for the success the Knights had on the field.

“It was a great game — a great battle and I am so happy for us right now,” Diaz said. “The key to the game I thought was we all hustled on every down. I had good backup – Eddie Cortez got a bunch of reps too — but whoever was in there gave 100 percent — went full speed. We have a lot of talented players coming back next year — I’m looking forward to another strong season.”