1A State Football Playoffs: King’s vs. Royal
Published 5:49 pm Friday, December 4, 2015
After six consecutive losses in the Class 1A state quarterfinals, the King’s football team finally advanced to the semifinals with a win over Hoquiam.
The Knights didn’t have to wait nearly as long to reach the championship game.
King’s (12-1) faces No. 1-ranked Royal on Saturday for the state title.
“It feels great, first time in school history and all those good things, and it feels great to be representing our league and our county,” King’s coach Jim Shapiro said.
Royal (13-0) comes into the game undefeated and has won all but two of its games by at least 40 points.
“I don’t really know much about them outside of the film that we’ve been able to get of them to do some scouting,” Shapiro said. “I do know that historically they’re a team that has done well and there is a long-standing tradition there of solid Royal football.”
What Shapiro has seen on film is a team that’s similar to his Knights in style, but gives opponents problems with its athleticism.
“I think it’s kind of a mirror image of us formation wise and maybe even play wise, it’s just athletically we’re going to have our hands full with their speed,” Shapiro said
Of course, King’s has some speed of its own. Junior running backs Andrew Cline and Caleb Perry ran for 138 and 126 yards, respectively, in the Knights’ 28-25 semifinal win over Montesano, and each has topped 1,000 yards for the season.
“The Andrew Cline and Caleb Perry show is pretty fun to watch,” Shapiro said. “They’re both different types of runners, but for both of those kids to be putting up the numbers that they are, it’s definitely a blessing to have those guys on the team.”
As far as preparation for this weekend’s championship game, Shapiro said it’s pretty much business as usual — with a few exceptions.
“We’re mostly focused on just doing what we do and trying to get better at it in the next few days,” Shapiro said. “We’re working a lot more this week on scenarios — onside kicks, two-point conversions and overtime. I’ve watched way too many semi(final) and final games where it comes down to something like that. Montesano pulled off the hook-and-ladder play on us and did it really well because I’m sure they practiced it. We’re kind of doing the same and just looking at all the scenarios we need to be ready for.”
Where: Tacoma Dome
When: 1 p.m., Saturday
Key Players: Royal—Samuel Christensen, sr., WR/S; Jose Ponce, sr., WR/CB/K; Kaden Jenks, jr., QB/S; Corbin Christensen, so., WR/DB; Joseph Lang, sr., RB/DB. King’s—Caleb Perry, jr., RB/DB; Andrew Cline, jr., RB/LB; Jake Welch, sr., WR/DB; Jack McCleod, sr., OL/DL; Duncan Cull, sr., TE/DL; Edmund Sundquist, sr., TE/DL; Cooper Wright, sr., RB/LB; Ryne Badgley, sr., OL/DL; Koa Wilkins, sr., QB/DB.
Records: Royal 13-0. King’s 12-1.
Twitter: @aaronlommers, @Krueger_David and @heraldnetpreps
Herald Pick: Royal
