Royal, Lynden Christian face off for 1A title
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald
ROYAL CITY — Royal football has another strong tournament run under their belts as the Knights get set for their fourth title appearance in five seasons. The Knights will take on Lynden Christian on Saturday afternoon for the 1A State championship.
Royal has been dominant in every fashion on its way to the top seed coming into the State tournament. With the last unbeaten record in the classification, at 13-0, the Knights have been elite on both sides of the ball.
With over 700 points scored so far this season, the Knights hold the mark as the highest scoring team in 1A by more than 100 points. Defensively, the Royal team has allowed less than 50 points all season, giving up just 46 so far this fall.
The Knights defeated Charles Wright by a mark of 64-7 to open their playoff run this season, before knocking off eighth-seed Omak the following week 62-6 to advance to the semifinals.
Royal faced a familiar opponent in the semifinal matchup against Connell. The Knights blanked their conference rival for the second time, advancing to the title game with a 42-0 rout last Saturday afternoon.
Facing off against the Knights for the 2019 final is Lynden Christian, coming out of the 1A Northwest Conference. The Lyncs come in with the second-best defense in the class, giving up just 92 points so far this fall.
Lynden Christian’s only defeat this year came to fifth-seeded Mt. Baker in the third game of the season. The Lyncs have not given up more than two touchdowns since the end of September.
Coming into the playoffs as the No. 7 seed, the Lyncs defeated Cascade Christian, 41-12 to advance to the quarterfinals. Lynden Christian went on the road in the following week to face second-seeded La Salle. The Lyncs stayed hot, holding off the home team for a 31-7 win to move on to face Deer Park.
With a 14-7 victory over the six-seed in the semifinals, the two top defenses will face off in Lakewood on Saturday afternoon for the chance at a title. The Lyncs’ last title came in the ’97-98 season. The Knights look for their eighth in the last 20 years.