Royal rolls Othello in nonleague clash
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Royal wide receiver Owen Ellis (87) makes the grab for a first down before being tackled by an Othello defender during Friday night’s nonleague game at Huskies Stadium.
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Othello running back Isaac Barragan rushed for 102 yards against Royal in Othello’s nonleague game Friday night at Huskies Stadium.
OTHELLO — Last week in the season opener, the Royal Knights scored on the first offensive play from scrimmage. It took the three-time defending 1A state champions a little longer on Saturday night in Huskies Stadium in Othello.
Linebacker Alonso Hernandez blew in on the blitz about the same time defensive end Adrian Banda came free, forcing Othello quarterback Logan Hollenback to lose control of the ball. Royal defensive lineman Javier Huitron picked up the loose ball and was off to the end zone on a 22-yard scoop-and-score on the second play of the game.
The Knights (2-0) coupled that quick defensive score with a 48-yard pass to Angel Farias and a 2-yard touchdown run by Tucker Janett on the second play of their first possession to overwhelm the 2A Huskies 56-0 to extend their winning streak to 43 consecutive victories.
Knights quarterback Sawyer Jenks found Carter Dorsing on a 13-yard scoring strike with 16.8 seconds remaining in the first quarter and the game, which ended under the running clock rule, was over before it even got started.
“We try to always come into a game thinking it’s a new game, new day and whatever we’ve done in the past is over. We just act like it’s another day to play football,” said Janett, who finished with 82 yards on nine carries with two touchdowns. “It felt pretty good tonight. I have some great blockers. In our running game, Alonso has the pop and I have the speed, so it gives us something to hit them with.”
Hernandez, who was a like a runaway freight train in the 1A state championship game, added 85 yards on 10 carries, including a 35-yard scamper. The Royal senior scored three consecutive touchdowns, two in the second quarter to make it 35-0 at the intermission and again in the third quarter to bring it to a 42-point lead and push the game into the running clock rule with 22 minutes remaining.
“I thought that scoop-and-score really got us rolling. We’ve been working on a fast start, so when it happens that early in the game, it’s great,” said Hernandez, who had two tackles for a loss and 16 assists at linebacker. “We’re really pretty humble. We work hard, but even our second and third string guys want to keep it going.”
It’s hard for teams to decide where to try and stop the bleeding with a team averaging 45.5 points a game, backed by a defense that has allowed one late touchdown in two games. Royal held Othello (1-1) to just 100 yards of total offense and just six first downs.
“We were expecting them to give it (Isaiah) Perez up the middle and we shut that down,” said linebacker Jack Diaz. “We preach 11 hats to the ball every down. I think our backers did our jobs because the D-line was taking on the blocks, so we can make the tackles.”
Despite taking the brunt of the Royal game plan on the chin, the Huskies went back to the run game that found some success late. The Knights held Isaiah Perez to just 17 yards, but 5-foot-9, 160-pound junior Isaac Barragan had the game of a lifetime, rushing for 102 yards on 15 carries.
“It shows our true heart beating Connell in the opener last week,” Hollenback said. “I thought Isaac Barragan had a great night. We just can’t let this one get our chins down. We have to keep driving to get better and put this one behind us.”
Royal 21 14 7 14 - 56
Othello 0 0 0 0 - 0
R - Javier Huitron 22 fumble return (Osvaldo Guerrero kick)
R - Tucker Janett 2 run (Guerrero kick)
R - Carter Dorsing 13 pass from Sawyer Jenks (Guerrero kick)
R - Alonso Hernandez 4 run (Guerrero kick)
R - Alonso Hernandez 11 run (Guerrero kick)
R - Alonso Hernandez 1 run (Guerrero kick)
R - Janett 9 run (Guerrero kick)
R - Gunnar Livingston 8 run (Guerrero kick)