QUINCY – The Jacks used a strong second half to surge over Royal in Saturday’s non-league matchup, riding out to a 6-1 win over the Knights.

“(Royal) is doing pretty well in the south in their league, and it was a game we were really looking forward to because of their standings and their record,” Tafoya said. “We knew it was going to be a tough one, and to come out on top is just going to place us better throughout the rest of the season.”

The Knights were without “a number” of their starters, according to Royal Head Coach Jens Jensen, and took out the first team players after the first half. Being a non-league game that wouldn’t affect their standings in the South Central Athletic Conference, Jensen said he didn’t want to risk potential injuries in the match with just two weeks until district playoffs begin.

“For us, this day looks like a total success,” Jensen said. “We did exactly what we wanted to do – give the first team a run out, let them learn some things about Quincy in the event that we see them again. And then give the young guys some opportunities to learn.”

Defensive lines for both the Jacks and Knights swarmed players with possession of the ball and took away passing lanes in the first half.

“For the defense, we did really quickly identify ‘this guy’s got to be marked up, that guy’s got to be marked up,’” Jensen said. “When we did that, most of their shots were 30 yards and out. They scored a couple of those in the second half, but in the first half, none of those were really that dangerous.”

Both squads had runs of their own in the first half, but Royal struck first on a goal by sophomore Silverio Hernandez. After the Quincy goalkeeper ran to the right of the net to attempt to keep the ball in bounds, Hernandez found the loose ball and shot to the left side of the net for a 1-0 lead in the 36th minute.

“There was some lack of communication, especially after that one goal that we conceded,” Quincy senior Jorge Nunez said. “It felt like the team started falling down, everyone kind of gave up, but we realized we had to step it up. If they were going to score one goal in 40 minutes, we could get one in the next 40 minutes too.”

Quincy answered quickly in the second half against the Knights’ second team, with goals by freshman Ken Morales and senior Isaac Lopez in the 44th and 45th minutes, respectively.

“It was a very big momentum moment, especially after the first goal,” Nunez said. “Getting a goal in the net, it’s going to boost our confidence.”

Nunez pushed the Jacks’ lead to 3-1 in the 53rd minute, and goals by freshman Bryan Nunez (64th minute), senior Antonio Valadez (66th minute) and junior Efrain Pena (70th minute) moved the score to 6-1 and gave Quincy its eighth-straight win.

“You’ve got to keep that momentum going, you’ve got to capitalize on it,” Tafoya said. “Can’t let off the gas. It inspires the guys – listening to them after every goal. ‘Keep going, lets keep going!’”

Quincy moved to 9-1 with the win, and Royal to 8-3-1 with the loss. The Jacks host Omak for a league contest at 6 p.m. on Thursday, while the Knights host Kiona-Benton City at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

Ian Bivona can be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

Box Score

Royal: 1-0 1

Quincy: 0-6 6