Allred and his football team give Royal City another state title in come-from-behind win
There is no rest for the weary.
Wiley Allred, the Royal head coach whose Knights won another WIAA Class 1A state high school football State championship on Saturday, has to get ready for Christmas after a very long football season.
“Well, I’ve got to plan the football banquet,” said Allred on Monday. “And I’ll get to order (state championship) sweatshirts. That’ll be fun. And we’re back working on the farm and in the shop. It’s slow right now.”
But, he says, “I’ve got to get ready to play Santa Claus next weekend. All of my family is getting together.”
He’s expecting over 100 relatives to attend.
“We have a large family,” said Allred. “I’m one of six boys and one sister.”
In addition to bringing his family gifts, Allred adds another state football title to the mantle for everyone to enjoy.
It’s Royal’s eighth state football title under Allred’s watch (ninth in school history) since he became head coach in 1999. It’s also the Knights’ fourth championship in the last five years.
Tough state victory
Saturday’s 26-22 victory over Lynden Christian, played at Harry E. Lang Stadium in Lakewood, didn’t come easy.
“They were strong up front,” said Allred. “But our defense played awesome.”
The Knights trailed 7-0 in the second quarter after the defense gave up a 60-yard TD pass.
But Royal rallied and scored the next three touchdowns — two 2-yard TD runs by quarterback Caleb Christensen, and a 19-yard scoring pass from Christensen to Tyler Allred.
That made it 19-7.
The Lyncs, however, came back and scored the next two touchdowns, and Lynden Christian led 22-19 with 3 minutes left in the game.
With just a few minutes remaining, though, Caleb Christensen found a wide open Aldo Farias for the game winner, a 74-yard TD pass that gave the Knights the lead for good and the victory.
Caleb Christensen was 22-for-37 for 318 yards and two touchdown passes.
Receiver Cooper Christensen caught 9 passes for 139 yards, while Lorenzo Myrick rushed 22 times for 65 yards.
Sophomore linebacker Derek Bergeson led the Royal defense with 8 tackles, three of them for loss.
If you’d have asked Wiley Allred before this season began, he would have thought last year’s team would have had a better chance at winning a state title.
But the 2018 squad, senior dominated, lost to eventual state champion Colville in the state semifinals.
“This year, this was mostly a new group,” he said. “We lost two of our starting guards before the season began when they transferred to California. The question was do we have enough guys on the offensive line?”
Defensive line
But Allred says this team put in the work, both on the field and in the weight room.
This team also had what he calls probably the best defensive unit he’s ever had.
And why not? A 14-0 record, surrendering just 68 total points all season long. Among those 14 games, the defensive unit pitched seven shutouts.
“Michael Perez, on the defensive line, could be the best defensive player I’ve had,” said Allred. “We started three sophomores at linebacker. Derek Bergeson, one of them, is an all-state type of player.”
Bergeson was the team’s leading tackler this season with 90 solo. Avery Ellis, another linebacker, was next with 85.
DB Cooper Christenson had eight interceptions.
Royal City residents have come to expect state titles from Allred and his teams. But each title takes a lot of work, he says.
“(Each state title) is different,” said Allred. “This one was special because it was such a dominating season. But nothing earned is ever easy.”
It never is.
Now, it’s time for farmer Allred to relax just a bit, do some offseason planning for both farming and football, and help his family and friends enjoy this latest state football championship.
Prep wrestling
Chiawana’s boys wrestling team picked up Saturday where it left off back in February — winning a team title.
Back in February, it was the WIAA Class 4A state team title.
On Saturday, it was the Bob Mars Invitational, the season opener for everyone at Kennewick High School.
The Riverhawks had five individual titles: Evan Sauceda at 132 pounds, Lance Stover at 138, Robby Vaughn at 152, Tyson Stover at 182, and Isaiah Anderson at 195.
Sauceda and Vaughn were named Outstanding Wrestlers of the Tournament.
Both of them rolled through their weight classes, each collecting four pins. Vaughn was especially outstanding, with his first two pins coming at 13 seconds each, and the third at 57 seconds.
Walla Walla had two tourney champs: Ruben Lozano at 113 pounds, and Jake Humphrey at 160.
Othello’s Isaiah Perez won the 285-pound title.
Notes
▪ Eastern Oregon University made it to the Round of 16 at the NAIA national volleyball championships before being eliminated by Westmont of California 3-1.
The Mountaineers finish with a 31-5 record.
Sophomore Breanna Shaffer (Kennewick) came off the bench all season for EOU, and she finished with 203 kills, the fourth most on the team.
▪ Montana Tech was eliminated at the same NAIA national volleyball championships, finishing in preliminary pool play.
The Orediggers finished the year with a 27-8 record.
Freshman McKenna Kaelber (Chiawana) was the team leader in assists with 1,216 this season. She was third on the team with 243 digs.
Teammate Kamaile Moody (Southridge) came off the bench this season and was second on the squad with 154 assists.
▪ Chiawana grad Braydey Hodgins was selected by coaches and media as the Mountain West Conference preseason women’s basketball Player of the Year.
Hodgins, a senior, was also named to the MWC preseason 1st-team all-conference unit.
The Broncos are 5-4 through games of Dec. 7, and Hodgins is second on the team in scoring (12.6 points a game), second with 43 assists, and second in steals with 10.
▪ Art Reyes, a Warden High graduate who also pitched at CBC before moving on to Gonzaga, elected free agency last month with the Tampa Bay Rays.
The right-handed pitcher had been at the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate in Durham. Reyes will hope to pick up with another big league club this offseason.