ROYAL CITY — The surprise announcement of head coach Wiley Allred being inducted into the Washington State Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame at the annual Royal High School Football Banquet Monday night brought the crowd to its feet to cheer for the man who guided the Knights to their third consecutive 1A state title in the Tacoma Dome Dec. 2.

The 41st win in a row capped off a third undefeated season, ran coach Allred’s win-loss record to 212-26, and put the Royal High School Football program among the best ever in the State.

“I was totally shocked and surprised with the announcement,” Allred said. “I am honored and humbled by it because there are so many kids, coaches and parents that helped me accomplish this.”

It’s been one heck of a year for Allred who has been at the helm of the program for nearly two decades. He along with the five other state championship coaches will be raising the 12th Man flag at the Seahawks game Sunday to boot.

“I get to represent the coaches and kids in this, but I’m not the one out on the field,” Allred said. “I can’t give the kids enough credit for this.”

Allred is a Royal City native. After graduating high school he went on the play football for a couple of years in college, and then returned home and became a part of the coaching staff at Royal High School.

“I was an assistant coach in charge of the defense under coach Jim Hill and coach Bob Nielsen for 17 years. I’ve been the head coach for 19 years now,” Allred said. “When I threw my hat in the ring for the position, I really was wanting to call the offensive plays. I’ve had a couple of defensive coordinators over the years, but Jeremy Scroggins, who is my D coordinator now is a phenomenal coach. He puts in a lot of time in the film room and really has our kids dialed in.”

Allred said the team has had a few lean years over his tenure as an assistant and head coach, but truth be told, there hasn’t been many.

“There were probably a couple years we knew we weren’t going to compete for state titles, but we did have great success during those times,” he said. “If you reach your teams’ and the individuals potential — that’s all you can ask for. But we have been to the playoffs for 28 straight years between coach Nielsen and myself — it’s been a phenomenal run. Coach Nielsen was also inducted to the Washington State Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2006 I believe.”

The induction ceremony for coach Allred will be held Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. in the Sea-Tac Crown Plaza Hotel.