Greatness achieved: Royal’s 40-game win streak, third straight 1A title on the line

There may come a time when Royal City is a destination spot for football coaches in search of the secret to success.

The Royal Knights, riding a 40-game winning streak, will play for their third consecutive Class 1A state championship at 1 p.m. Saturday against Meridian at the Tacoma Dome. They’re in the hunt to add an eighth state title to their program’s storied history.

But none of those impressive facts show up on the scoreboard, something Royal coach Wiley Allred knows all too well.

“You are playing another 13-0 team that is after the same thing,” Allred said. “Things are falling into place, kids are stepping up and improving every week. We look at (Meridian), and we have to focus on what we aren’t doing right. Our opponent does a lot of different things on both sides of the ball that we have to be aware of.”

One of those things to be aware of is Trojans quarterback Simon Burkett, an Eastern Washington commit. A dual threat, Burkett has thrown for 2,938 yards and 25 touchdowns, and run for 583 yards and 10 more scores.

Royal, of course, has offensive weapons of its own, but it’s the defense that has been most dominant. The unit has barely been scored upon, posting eight shutouts in 13 games and allowing just 45 points all season (21 of those went to rival Connell, ranked No. 2 at the time). That boils down to little more than a field goal a game for the other team.

And as the competition has gotten better in the playoffs, so has Royal’s defense: 35-0 over Freeman, 49-0 over Okanogan and 35-7 over Newport in the semifinals last weekend.

On offense, the Knights have a bevy of weapons to choose from in their balanced attack, led by junior quarterback Sawyer Jenks (133-for-216, 2,610 yards, 38 TDs, 4 INTs). Jenks is the younger brother of Kaden Jenks, who quarterbacked the Knights to their last two state titles.

Corbin Christensen, the SCAC Offensive Player of the Year, is Jenks’ favorite receiver, hauling in 52 passes for 1,076 yards and 16 touchdowns.

When the Knights want to mix things up, they run the ball, and they do that well, too. Alonzo Hernandez has 1,011 yards on 157 carries (6.4 avg.) and 16 touchdowns, while Lorenzo Myrick had 694 yards on 76 carries (9.1 avg.) and 12 touchdowns.

The key to this sustained run, Allred said, is a true group effort.

“To have success, you have to get the kids out, and we get a large number,” he said. “We have good assistant coaches, good community support, and the kids have faith in us. You have to have good kids on the field, and they impress me quite often. They are bright kids and really good football players.”

It doesn’t hurt to start them young.

“Good participation in the kids program is the key,” Allred said. “It gets to the point where the young kids can’t wait to put on that uniform.”

Under the Dome

The Knights won their first state title in 1996 under coach Bob Nielsen, after placing second in 1994 (that game was played at the now departed KingDome).

Allred took over the program from his mentor in 1999, and the success has continued.

Royal won titles in 2000, ’04, ’05 and ’07 before this latest run in 2015 and ’16. They placed second in ’02 and ’12.

Impressive numbers

Royal’s 40-game win streak ranks No. 7 in the nation among current streaks. Kimberly (Wisc.) has the No. 1 current streak at 70.

The Knights’ run started the first game of 2015 (45-0 win over Ephrata) and includes 15 shutouts.

“We want to keep it going,” Allred said. “It will be a battle.”

This story was originally published November 30, 2017 at 5:10 PM with the headline "Greatness achieved: Royal’s 40-game win streak, third straight 1A title on the line."