Connell, Royal to add to their storied football rivalry on Saturday

There are 49 miles that separate Connell from Royal City.

But you still might not find closer neighbors.

After all, boys from both schools have played against each other in Grid Kids since the third-grade.

Both are small-town farming communities. The schools play in the same league — the South Central Athletic Conference East — against each other in various sports.

And the head coaches are good friends.

And on Saturday, for the fourth time in 12 years, the two football teams meet in a state semifinal or championship contest.

Saturday’s 3 p.m. Class 1A semifinal between Connell and Royal at Lions Field in Moses Lake will determine one of the teams scheduled for the state 1A title game on Dec. 7, set for noon at Harry Lang Stadium in Lakewood.

The coaches Wiley Allred had been Royal’s head coach since 1999, where he’s led the Knights to seven state football titles.

He immediately wants to know if Connell coach Wayne Riner is underselling his Eagles team to the Herald.

“I’ve got concerns,” said Allred. “Starting with the line of scrimmage. They are just so big. They are way bigger than we are. And their quarterback (Trevor Johnson) is playing with confidence.”

Plus, Wayne is a good coach.

”In 1999, when the head coaching job at Royal became open, Allred — an assistant at Royal at the time — applied for the position. So did Riner.

“I got it, but I wanted him to come over here and be an assistant for me,” said Allred. “Then Connell turned around and hired him as the head coach.”

It became a tough, neighborhood rivalry from that point on. Both teams have always been at or near the top of the SCAC East standings.

In the early days, Connell always seemed to have the edge.

Don’t think it’s just been Royal that has won multiple state titles.

Under Riner, Connell has had three state championships — 2002, 2005 and 2011.

Lately, the Knights have had the advantage.

These two teams have met three other times in the state tournament: 2007, Royal beat Connell 28-16 for the state title; 2015 semifinals, Royal won 47-7; and 2016, the Knights beat the Eagles 25-10 for another state title.

This season, his Eagles got off to a slow start, losing their first two games to Othello and Sandpoint, Idaho.

Since then, though, they’ve won nine out of 10 games.

“We’re playing well right now,” said Riner. “Nobody expected us to get this far. We got some great match-ups in the first few rounds.”

That included a 17-7 victory on the road over La Center in the first round of the state playoffs, then a 14-9 win over Mt. Baker (a team that has beaten 1A powerhouse Lynden, both Allred and Riner noted) in the quarterfinals.

“My buddy, who coaches La Center, said to me before that first playoff game, ‘I don’t know if we are a No. 4 seed, but I definitely know you guys aren’t a 13 seed,’” said Riner.

The game

Riner finds himself up in the middle of the night, thinking about football.

“I’ll go to bed, but I’ll wake up at 1:30 a.m.,” he said. “My wife will wake up, see that I’m watching more game film, shake her head, roll over and go back to sleep.”

The Eagles have been successful this season by running the football, chewing up the clock, and using a tough defensive unit to keep the opponent out of the end zone.

That one blemish in the Eagles’ last 10 games? It was a 34-0 loss at home in early October to Royal.

“Royal is a machine,” Riner said. “All of their receivers can catch the football. Caleb Christensen is a great quarterback. There is just no weakness. Their line is quick. They have the best defensive lineman (Michael Perez) in the league.”

But he also says his team has confidence.

“Our boys are not scared of nobody,” said Riner. “There are a lot of teams that go in against Royal and are intimidated from the start. We are not intimidated.”

They’re neighbors.

“We’d like to control the ball,” said Riner. “Any way we can steal some momentum from them, by making some plays, we have to do so. Special teams is key. They’re always returning punts. And we’re gonna have to pick up some more points than what we’ve had the last few games.”

As much attention as the Knights offense gets with its explosiveness, Allred says it’s his defensive unit that drives this machine.

“We’re not as big this season,” he said. “But we’re faster overall. Jeremy Scroggins is our defensive coordinator. He gives the kids a lot of confidence. He’s responsible for that defense.”

Allred wasn’t quite sure what to expect this season after losing a large number of kids to graduation. He also lost a few kids to transfers, and another one decided not to turn out.

Yet here the Knights are, ranked No. 1 in Class 1A all season and sporting a 12-0 record.

“This,” adds Allred, “is not surprising to some of our kids.”

Winning breeds confidence.

The bottom line for Riner, is he’s excited because his kids “are just happy to be back at practice this week.”

“And I think the kids are loose,” added Riner. “They don’t care. They just want to play.”

This is what concerns Allred.

“Playing teams twice in a season can be nerve-wracking,” admits Allred.

Come about 6 p.m. Saturday, someone is getting neighborhood bragging rights for the next nine months.

▪ Coming Friday: a look at the Kennewick Lions’ season, heading into Saturday’s 3A state semifinal game.