ROYAL CITY - The Royal High Knights got off to a fast start, scoring 22 points in the first quarter, then maintained their lead over a determined Kiona-Benton squad for a 36-21 football victory Friday night.

The Knights secured the SCAC East league title and top seeding going into the crossover playoff round with only one league game remaining on their schedule.

For the second consecutive week, Jose Ponce returned the first punt for a touchdown.

After the Bears went 3-and-out on their opening drive, Ponce caught the punt on the Royal 40-yard line and worked his way to the left sideline. Once to the edge, he trusted his speed and maintained a direct route to the end zone as his blockers secured his path.

Three minutes later Ponce hauled in an 18-yard pass from quarterback Kaden Jenks for his 10th touchdown of the season to extend the Royal lead to 15-0.

Another three minutes later, senior running back Miguel Ayala made his way onto the highlight reel with an imposing display of power and speed.

After taking a hand-off to the short side of the field, Ayala powered his way to the right edge while stiff-arming two potential tacklers to the ground in the process. Once he cleared the initial defensive surge, he channeled his "inner-Ponce" and never allowed the last defenders to gain any ground, outpacing them for a 77-yard touchdown run.

The Knights' coaching staff knew it would be facing a determined Kiona-Benton team, which was riding the momentum of an upset victory over the Connell Eagles in their previous game.

Despite trailing 29-7 at halftime, the Bears never buckled. After the Knights failed to capitalize on a Joe Lang interception in Bear territory, Kiona-Benton quarterback Trey Manson connected with Vladimir Rizen beyond the Knight coverage for a 69-yard score.

A one-yard rushing touchdown by Ayala with 4:39 left in the game finally gave the Knights some breathing room and a 36-14 lead. Ayala turned in his fourth 100-yard rushing performance of the season, finishing with 135 yards on 17 carries.

The final touchdown was Ayala's 11th for the season. After seven weeks of play, Royal has three players with 10 or more touchdowns, including Darrin Miller's 21-yard touchdown reception just before halftime.

Defensively, the Knights gave up more yards and points than they would have liked. The early Royal lead forced the Bears to the air, with relative success. All three Kiona-Benton touchdowns came by way of the passing game.

Kiona-Benton took to the air 43 times, completing 37 percent. Royal intercepted Manson five times along the way. Lang and Ponce each had two and Carson Gilbert secured his third interception of the season.

Defensive end Teddy Mead notched his 8th and 9th sacks of the season on consecutive plays late in the fourth quarter.

Despite the win, Royal's coaches and players know they still have plenty to work on as they progress toward the postseason.

"We will get right back to work on Monday. We need to get better," Coach Wiley Allred said. "We started out strong and overcame some untimely penalties, turnovers, and the elements to get the win."

While Royal is the frontrunner, the rest of the SCAC East is a virtual logjam. Each of the other five teams has at least two league losses.

The top four finishers will qualify for a meaningful crossover game with the SCAC West and an opportunity to qualify for the state playoffs.

Royal looks to keep its league record unblemished as it travels to Burbank to face the Columbia Coyotes on Friday. The Coyotes have a win over Kiona-Benton and losses to River View and Connell.

If you can't make the trip on Friday, a live audio webcast of the game can be heard at www.royalknightsfootball.com. Just click on the Webcast link to listen live.