Royal football off to unreal start
ROYAL CITY — There’s good. There’s scary good and then there’s whatever’s going on in Royal City.
Words will not accurately describe what the two-time defending 1A state champions are doing so far this football season, so I’ll let the numbers speak for themselves.
First there’s the winning streak, which is now at 32 straight. Now let’s not get all gaga, because De La Salle from Concord, Calif., holds the national high school winning streak with 151 consecutive from 1992 to 2004. But the last time the Knights lost was to Colville in the 2014 state quarterfinals.
The Royal offense has been on an insane pace through the first six weeks of the 1A football season, scoring 330 points in six games at a remarkable 55 points a clip. They scored 74 points against College Place. Say it with me … 70 and four points. The basketball team would be happy to have that scoring average, which translates into 18.5 points a quarter and that translates into 1.5 points per minute.
You can say, “Oh, that’s College Place,” and have an argument, but their six victories this season also includes wins over 2A programs Ellensburg (42-0) and Othello (35-0). Ellensburg is down this season, but it is a perennial 2A state tournament team.
Othello is on the verge of winning the CWAC North title and advancing to the 2A tournament this year. To score 77 combined and not allow a point speaks volumes.
Royal quarterback Sawyer Jenks has thrown five touchdown passes in three separate games. In Friday night’s run-of-the-mill 49-0 win over Kiona-Benton, Jenks had touchdown passes of 41 and 15 to Corbin Christensen and a 60-yard TD pass to Angel Farias. Just an average night at the office.
Yep, that’s pretty fair shooting with possession of the football.
But I don’t know what’s more scary good, averaging 55 points a game on offense or a defense that has given up just three points all season.
They’re like the Baby Legion of Boom. Other than a field goal to Warden in Week 3, they have pitched five shutouts. No points in 12 straight quarters.
Incredible, Clayton Kershaw would win the Cy Young every year with a performance like that. To put it in simple terms, the Royal City defense is allowing just ½-point per game. Even with the score 56-0 at the half, like it was against Wahluke, the second unit, junior varsity, Pop Warner teams that are coming in to wrap things up aren’t allowing points on the board.
The numbers speak for themselves, because the guys, humble in nature, just sort of shrug it off like it’s business as usual.
Last time I was in Royal City, coach Wiley Allred said, “We’re pretty good, but so is Deer Park and Colville.”
Christensen says, “We’re just trying to win another state championship.”
Jenks, whose brother Kaden was The Associated Press 1A Player of the Year last season, says, “I’ve been working hard to get here, now it’s my turn.”
To tell you the truth, I like humble. I’d much rather talk to Joe Montana than Deion Sanders, but both attitudes are part of sports.
We’re gonna find out just how good the Knights are on Friday night when the Connell Eagles (6-0) come calling.
Friday Night Lights in Royal City. It’s the Knights vs. Eagles on Friday the 13th. Man oh man, the only thing better than that is if it would be under a full moon, but that was last week.
Close enough, strap it on ‘cause it’s going to be a barn-burner.
Rodney Harwood is a sports writer for the Columbia Basin Herald and can be reached at rharwood@columbiabasinherald.com
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