This week's topic -- Greatest Games in Royal Football History

[Sidekick]

Hello All!

Each week we will have a bit of an informal discussion on a topic this is hopefully interesting to you. We will try to compile and summarize all of your responses/input and discuss the topic on the following weeks live broadcast.

This week's topic -- What are the greatest games in Royal Knight Football history? Give use your top 3 or more. They don't need to be State Championship games, or playoff games, or even games that we won; just the games that stick out in your mind as the most memorable. Don't forget to tell us why you chose them.

Hopefully this will be a fun feature over the course of the season. Please take the time and participate. It will make our new website a lot more interesting. I have some future topic in mind, but feel free to suggest some of your own.

[Jensers]

Well - I have not been around for very long, and I am sorry to bring up a game in which Royal lost, but that game in Connell 2 years ago - that was by far the most exciting and entertaining game I have ever been to.
The visitors stands in Connell are terrible, and we had these Connell kids coming over and there were little skirmishes behind the benches, also it was the first time in years that the teams had come together and there was a lot to prove, so that made for a charged atmosphere- also we were getting killed 1st half and then came storming back... A lot of drama.
A heartbreaker - but something I wont forget.

[Sidekick]

Thanks for getting this going Jensers. I will go ahead and list my own personal favorites. I asked my wife as well, so in some ways this list is from the both of us. If I get any of the details wrong, please feel free to correct them.

First of all, there are a couple of games that I wasn't in attendance for, but I am guessing that they are on somebody elses favorites list. One of those was the 1996 semi-final game against Cascade (Leavenworth) in Moses Lake. What was the name of the "all world" running back that had been averaging over 200 yards rushing per game. Anyway, the Knights shut him down completely and came out with a 25-12 victory. The other game that I wasn't fortunate enough to witness in person was the 1994 semi-final game against East Valley-Yakima in Othello. I happened to be stuck at a wedding reception in Denver, Colorado. We were huddled in a Honda Accord out in the parking lot listening to Ryan give us his original play-by-play from his cell phone.

Here are my favorites that I attended in person (in order of preference):

1996 -- Cle Elum @ Royal
In this regular season match-up, the Warriors came into town believing their own hype. Led by the talented Craven brothers, they infamously hung a banner that said, JUST ANOTHER STOP ON THE WAY TO THE DOME. Royal controlled the game from start to finish and went on to The Dome themselves for their 1st State Championship.

1995 -- Riverview @ Royal
This was also a regular season match-up. Royal controlled the game early, but allowed Riverview (led by future Washington Husky Chad Ward) to roar back into the game in the 2nd half to take the lead. The Knights found themselves down by 11 late in the 4th quarter. The Knights kicked a long field goal (Jacob Harris?) and followed that up with a late touchdown and 2 point conversion to tie the game and force overtime. The Knights went on to victory in double overtime.

2005 -- Royal @ Freeman -- Quarterfinals
This game stands out to me for one main reason. Royal standout Jeff Jack broke his hand in the opening minutes of the game and played the entire game on both offense and defense. He led the Knights to a 35-14 win and ultimately a State Championship that year.

2000 -- Royal @ Okanogan -- Quarterfinals
The Bulldogs had knocked the Knights out of the playoffs in both 1997 and 1998 and they were led in 2000 by standout fullback and linebacker Will Derting (who went on to star at linebacker for WSU). The Knights met Okanogan in one of the most dramatic contests in Knight history. My specific memories of that game include Jeremy Scroggins executing a crack-back block on Will Derting with every ounce of force he had and Derting hardly flinching. The block was enough, however, to free Chris Murphy for a touchdown. I remember Chris Murphy breaking tackles all day with spin moves, cut backs, and sheer power. Royal sealed the 33-20 victory with a touchdown pass from Will Sutor to Tight End Mark Christensen. The Knights went on to win their 2nd State Championship that season.

1996 -- Royal vs. Toledo -- State Final
Honestly, the particulars of this game are a bit of a blur. This was Royal's first Championship and the air inside the Tacoma Dome was electric. Led by standouts Jed Wardenaar (QB), Aaron Christensen (OL/DL), and Devin Dixon (RB), the Knights established themselves in a hurry scoring 3 or 4 touchdowns in the 1st quarter. Their 49-0 halftime lead ballooned into a 70-0 final score. First game in the Tacoma Dome; first State Championship. Starting with that first one, the Knights have gone on to win 8 out of 9 contests in that venue.

Somebody else can give the particulars of the latest round of games with Connell, which culminated with the Knights exacting revenge of 2 regular season losses to win the 2007 State Championship. I could go on for days about that one.

[bsracer]

(1) I agree with jensers, that game at connell was a barn burner,even though the bleachers are'nt very accomidating. (2) Beating connell in the championship game . (3) Could be just about any game spanning the last 10 to 15 years. It has been so much fun seeing all the talented players come through the royal program.:cool::D

[Sidekick]

115 view and only 2 replies. Without everyone's input this won't be anything we can discuss on the broadcast. How about you Superhero? That's right, I'm calling you out! You too MrKnight, Valle, Oledezma, Asmith.

[Superhero]

For me, this semi-final game played in Othello is the contest that usually comes to mind when I think of exciting Knight victories. East Valley was driving with just a few minutes remaining to go up by two touchdowns when Derek Allred came flying up from his safety position making Barden fumble the ball. The Knights were able to drive down the field with alternating plays between Dan Murphy and Jake Wardenaar. I think the tying score was a pass in the corner to Chad Bergeson. If I remember right, East Valley scored on one play in the overtime and while they were rolling around the field celebrating, their extra point attempt failed. This was when Knight fans became truly confident because our kicker, Jacob Harris, was just money that season. The Knights scored in a few plays, East Valley called both their timeouts trying to freeze the kicker, and we won the game by one point. I will never forget how it felt as a fan to realize that we would be going to the Kingdome the following week to play for the championship. Truly an electric victory that energized the entire community.

[kjpabl]

Sidekick -- Cascades RB was Carl Haberberger approx 1560 yds rushing and 34 TDs only score against us was a nice kickoff return in the fourth qtr. I can still remember the ML grounds crew trying to clear the ice off the field right before kickoff. The Omak game was a good one tied at 14 at the half -- I remember overhearing a couple of Pioneer fans saying they would wear us down and dominate the second half --only to have our defense stifle them and we scored three (3) unanswered TD's. We lost Mitch Barker that game but Devin Dixon, Bart Jensen and a host of Knights took his place and helped out. Although I'm not a fan of tight, tense games the Riverview/Royal OT thriller was a great one. The Cle Elum game was fun -- everyone was so upset by their poster -- I just thought it would be great reading material for their bus ride home. Some speed bumps are a little tougher than others. All in all I've enjoyed every game I've had the priviledge of watching, great student-athlete's, great coaching staffs, and a wonderfull community to support them. That's what small town football is all about!

[capcentre]

How is former Royal coach Jim Hill doing?

[Jensers]

Good. He is the technology directory for the school district and is on the retire-rehire program. He has at least 1 grandchild that I know of... His office is next to my classroom so I try to give him as much trouble as possible.
He still coaches softball with Bill Barker.

[Kyle]

Mine was 1991 season holding teams to 10 pts the whole year...and beating Ephrata on total points allowed the whole year!

[Jail]

I remember heading over to that game. Snowing like crazy. We ran into a lot of Royal City brave at Indian John rest stop. But I chickened out and turned around. We had fun listening to the game on the radio as we drove home. Lot's of high fives!

[BigNips]

I remember watching that game against Monte in the finals at the Allred's place one night at a team dinner. That was a darn good football game, I still wish that we would have won but I think they got a little anger out of that game when they stopped Toledo!!

Another good I remember was in '04 when we played Friday Harbor i the Semi-Finals, I still remember Jimmy throwin' up his lunch before that game he was so nervous. The Knights went on to beat them and correct me of I am wrong but I think Jimmy tied the record for punt returns in a season.

Another noticeable game that sticks out is when the Knigts played Othello in the '04 season opener. Knights went on to beat them 28-21 and also the state championship as well as Othello as they were crowned the winningest-losers!! (they should have handed over their trophy to us)!