Quest for the crown

ROYAL CITY – Players on teams across the state dream of hoisting a state championship trophy at the end of a long season; for the two teams remaining in the 1A State Football Tournament – the No. 1 seed Royal Knights and No. 2 Seton Catholic – those dreams are still alive. 

Royal takes on the Cougars on Friday for the 1A crown in Seattle; the game is a rematch of last season’s 1A semifinal, won by the Knights in Royal City. 

“A lot of them went last year, and they’re just as excited right now to get this thing going,” Royal Head Coach Wiley Allred said. “They’re excited to be in that position and humbled by it.” 

Both teams enter Saturday’s game with unblemished 12-0 records; the Knights, champions of the South Central Athletic Conference, defeated No. 8 Lynden Christian 56-12 two weeks ago in the quarterfinals and No. 4 Cashmere 44-7 in Saturday’s semifinal in Moses Lake.  

On the other side of the bracket, the Trico 1A league champion Cougars defeated No. 7 Life Christian Academy 42-21 in the quarterfinals and No. 6 Montesano 35-14 last week to punch their ticket to the state final. 

“They’re an ultra-talented team, a good football team,” Coach Allred said. “They didn’t have any seniors last year, so they have their whole team back. They’ve got some guys that can really move and really run, and they’ve gotten stronger, bigger and faster. You can really tell.” 

Royal defeated Seton Catholic 42-0 in last season’s state playoffs, aided by a 28-0 lead by the end of the fourth quarter and running back Ethan Ellis rushing for 177 yards and two scores on 13 carries. The Knights outgained the Cougars 448 yards to 206, and now-senior Ben Jenks intercepted two passes. Quarterback Lance Allred accounted for four total touchdowns in the win, throwing one and rushing in for three. 

“It’s a similar team (to last year’s), but they’ve grown – if you play with the same team for two years in a row, you’ll have chemistry and knowledge,” Lance Allred said. “They’ve gotten a ton better, and they even play a little bit differently. It’ll be really fun.” 

It’s the third straight opponent the Knights have faced this postseason that they’ve played in each of the past two seasons; Royal played its quarterfinal opponent, Lynden Christian, in both 2022 and 2023. The Knights defeated Cashmere, who they played in the semifinals last Saturday, earlier this season Oct. 4. There are pros and cons to that familiarity, Wiley Allred said.  

“It’s good and bad – I'm sure they’ve found things they can try and exploit, and we hope to do the same thing,” Allred said. “A lot of it comes down to the guys at the line of scrimmage, the offensive and defensive lines. I feel like we’ve got to really establish ourselves and be physical up front.” 

One of the many returners for the Cougars is running back Jacob Williams, who ran for 105 yards in last season’s matchup between the two teams. 

“They like to run the ball; they’ve got a dynamic running back who’s big, strong and fast,” Coach Allred said. “... they like being able to do both (run and pass) like we do.” 

Seton Catholic is averaging a shade under 47 points per game this season. 

“They have a lot of good players, their o-line is really good,” senior Asher Garnick said. “They have a quarterback that can throw the ball and run the ball, they have people to catch the ball, they have a good running back – this week, what’s it’s going to take is us staying on top of our game and everybody doing their job.” 

Lance Allred shared a similar belief. 

“We just have to do our own job, we can’t do anyone else’s,” Lance Allred said. “As long as we all trust each other and do our own job, we should be good.” 

Saturday’s game will be played at Husky Stadium in Seattle, home of the University of Washington’s football team. There’s something special about playing in a stadium like that. 

“They make it a whole big deal for the kids, I think that adds to the atmosphere,” Coach Allred said. “But, we’re there to play a football game. We’d be excited anywhere, but it does add to that.” 

“It just adds to the excitement,” Lance Allred said. “You get to play in a college stadium, somewhere that we watch locally right here. It’s super exciting.” 

The Knights also played there in last season’s title game, where they defeated Lakeside (9 Mile Falls) 49-7. 

“I think it was a great experience; from the moment walking in, seeing all the locker rooms and all the tradition that they have set up there,” Garnick said. “... To be able to play in a stadium like that is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime type of experience.” 

Royal is seeking its fifth consecutive title, eighth in the past nine seasons and 13th in the program’s history. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. Friday. 

“(Play) Turnover free as much as possible, and be tough and physical up front – be the most physical team out there,” Coach Allred said. 

    Royal senior Jackson Larsen (21) follows blockers on his way toward the end zone during last Saturday’s semifinal win over Cashmere.
  

    Royal senior Lance Allred, left, keeps his eyes on Lynden Christian defenders before handing the ball off to senior Santana Luna, right.
  

    Royal junior Shea Stevenson, in black, dives toward the end zone during last season’s state championship game against Lakeside (9 Mile Falls) at Husky Stadium in Seattle. The Knights take on Seton Catholic in Friday’s state championship game at 3 p.m. at the same venue.