Royal's Jenks named AP 1A Player of the Year
Rodney Harwod/Sun Tribune - Royal quarterback Sawyer Jenks leads an offense that has outscored its oponents 403-3 in the past seven games.
The Associated Press has selected a player from Royal City as its 1A Player of the Year twice in the past three years.
The thing is, the award has gone to the same household. This year the AP recognized Royal quarterback Sawyer Jenks as the player of the year and the all-state quarterback in the 1A ranks. In 2016, his brother Kaden, who is now the quarterback at Weber State University, was recognized with the same award.
“I think it’s a reflection of our family,” Sawyer Jenks said. “We’re taught to work hard and leave everything out there. This award really means a lot to me and a recognition of all the work I’ve put in.”
The Associated Press’ 2018 all-state high school football selections recognized those efforts.
The Royal Knights owned the longest winning streak in the nation (53) for a week, then saw their hopes for a fourth consecutive 1A state championship come to the end in the semifinals.
They were led by the Sawyer Jenks, who was named the 1A player of the year. Alonso Hernandez was a first-team selection both as a running back and a linebacker and Angel Farias was an AP first-teamer at wide receiver.
The Knights had a couple of honorable mentions in linebacker Jacob Newsome and defensive lineman Javier Huitron.
“I’m really happy for Sawyer. He had great career. He’s a big-time quarterback and has WSU looking at him as a possible walk-on and some other schools. He’s big-time,” Knights Hall of Fame coach Wiley Allred said. “Alonso is a phenomenal football player. He led the team in tackles three years in a row. I think we’re one of the best teams in eastern Washington and Angel’s the fastest guy on the field every time.”
In the 2A ranks, Othello’s Isaiah Perez added first-team AP all-state defensive selection to his Central Washington Athletic Conference defensive player of the year, capping off a good season for the Huskies.
Area standout Maguire Isaak ended his career at Almira/Coulee-Hartline as a first team quarterback in Class 1B. The Warriors returned to the state championship game earlier this month after winning it all in 2017, but were denied a second consecutive championship by league rival Odessa.