Friday, March 29, 2024
45.0°F

Royal notches win over King’s in semifinal round

by REBECCA PETTINGILL
Staff Writer | November 29, 2021 1:03 AM

Royal High School continued to defend its undefeated season Saturday by beating King’s High School 35-14, and will face Eatonville High School in the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) Gridiron Classic: State Football Finals at noon Saturday at Harry E. Lang Stadium in Lakewood.

In the last matchup, both team’s mascots were Knights, which might’ve shown victory was not going to just be handed to Royal, especially in the semifinal round of the state competition.

King’s came out showing why it made it this far in the competition, with an immediate interception and made the first touchdown with a 17-yard pass. Royal was not ready to let King’s take the lead and made a 21-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Derek Bergeson to his twin Luke. This tied the score 7-all.

The second quarter heated up, with Royal showing King’s why it was a powerhouse when it came to the state competition. Royal scored three touchdowns during the second quarter, shutting out King’s from its end zone. The touchdowns included two separate 4-yard rushing touchdowns by Derek Bergeson and a 3-yard rushing touchdown by senior Avery Ellis.

The third quarter seemed to cool down as Royal was ahead by 21 points. That didn’t stop Royal from reaching the end zone; Derek Bergeson made a 16-yard touchdown pass to Ellis. King’s returned the favor and saw a touchdown in the third quarter, bringing the score to Royal 35, King’s 14.

Neither team saw the end zone in the fourth quarter. Royal took the victory 35-14. Despite what seemed to be an easy victory by Royal, several interceptions on both sides were sure to keep the crowd on its toes. King’s had three interceptions: one in the first quarter, one in the second quarter and the third in the last quarter. Royal had two interceptions: one in the second quarter and one in the fourth quarter.

Box Score

Royal - 7 21 7 0 - 35

King’s - 7 0 7 0 - 14