ROYAL CITY – The Royal Knights (13-0) are the 1A state football champions for the sixth straight season. The Knights held off a late comeback by the Cashmere Bulldogs to win 21-20 at Husky Stadium.  

“There’s been so much work going into it,” Anderson Brown said. “It’s been absolutely crazy, but we got the best coaching staff in the state. They just give me the game plan and I know if I execute, it will be perfect.”  

It was a nailbiter to the very end. However, several clutch plays were made by players like Dax Jenks, Grant Wardenaar, Shea Stevenson, Fischer Livingston and Brown, who made one of the most crucial plays of the season for Royal. The Knights led the entire game by putting up a touchdown in each of the first three quarters. The Bulldogs surprised the Royal defense by managing to go 92 yards and score a touchdown with under two minutes left in the game. However, a failed two-point play sealed the win for the Knights.  

“It feels great,” Jenks said. “You never realize the feeling of this until it actually happens... I’ve played since the sixth grade, but actually getting in the game and being a key factor (to the win), that’s just a game changer.”  

The Knights’ defense was able to force a three-and-out on Cashmere’s opening drive in the first quarter. Wardenaar and the offense took over and constructed a long and methodical drive. Once they reached the red zone, Wardenaar capitalized on an opening in the secondary and found Brown for a 12-yard touchdown pass.  

The Knights held the Bulldogs scoreless in the first quarter and went into the second with a 7-0 lead. However, the Bulldogs struck first on a 13-yard touchdown pass, but a failed two-point play still left them trailing 7-6. Royal responded swiftly after Wardenaar found Jenks on a short pass, who then took the rock 71 yards for a touchdown.  

“I'm glad he's fast. It's kind of a new wrinkle that we put in on Wednesday, and we got him in the right defense, and made the most of it,” head coach Wiley Allred said.

Both defenses embodied the "Bend, don’t break," mentality the rest of the first half. As the Knights' offense looked to start moving the ball downfield again, Wardenaar threw a rare interception, and the Bulldogs' offense took over. However, only a couple of plays later, Shea Stevenson was in the right place at the right time to make an acrobatic interception to give the Knights the ball back.  

The Bulldogs' defense held up and forced a three-and-out. On Cashmere’s next offensive outing, they threw another interception. This time, it was caught by Fischer Livingston with 30 seconds left in the first half. Royal took a knee and went into halftime to regroup.  

The Knights received the ball to start the second half. Their drive showed early promise on another big gain by Jenks to put them at midfield. The Bulldogs' defense stood tall once again and forced a turnover on downs after Royal failed to convert the fourth-down play.  

Cashmere’s offense got into rhythm by moving the ball downfield through the air. As their quarterback got hotter, they began to take bigger chunks of the field each play. Eventually, the Cashmere quarterback kept the ball himself and punched it in for a five-yard touchdown run. They successfully converted the two-point play and tied the game 14-14.  

Both teams were throwing their best punches while maintaining their best defense strategy. Allred said Royal was seeing similar play styles from the Bulldogs as they did back in October when they faced off for the first time.  

“They did some little things, but it's basically the same kids, same offense and defense, they mix it up really well, so it's hard to know when they're in certain defenses and offenses,” Allred said. 

The Royal offense responded on their next drive by moving the ball through the run game and occasional chunk plays through the air to Brown and Manny Ruvalcaba. Inside the 25-yard line, Wardenaar handed the ball off to Jenks once again, who shook a few tackles and juked out of another to find the endzone on a 22-yard touchdown run. The Knights finished the third quarter with a 21-14 lead over the Bulldogs.  

On the Bulldogs' next offensive drive, they moved the ball in a way that ate a lot of the game clock. As they neared midfield, a screen play worked exactly how they drew it up, and they found themselves inside the 10-yard line. After back-to-back designed quarterback runs that were halted by the Knights' defense, the Bulldogs decided to switch up their playcalling.  

The Bulldogs quarterback passed the ball to a receiver at his right, who was met at the two-yard line by Brown, who miraculously yanked the ball from the Bulldog ball carrier to give Royal the ball back.  

“When they do that little cheat motion we saw in film, sometimes (the Cashmere receiver) opens his body early for a bubble, and I saw him open his body a little early, so I knew that I needed to go. I leveraged my guy perfectly, ran right in my arm, and I just ripped as much as I could, and I got it. It was a surreal moment, but I knew I had the ball. I thought I was going to take off, but I got tripped,” Brown said.  

The Knights milked some more clock, but eventually were forced to punt the ball back to Cashmere. It seemingly worked in their favor as they put the Bulldogs in a position where they would need to go 92 yards to tie the game.  

However, the Bulldogs utilized the two-minute drill to find opportunities to move the ball downfield. A penalty by the Knights set up Cashmere to execute a pass play that resulted in a big gain and put the ball inside the red zone. The Knights did their best, but the Bulldogs were able to punch it in with less than a minute to go in the game.  

Cashmere set up a field goal attempt, but a timeout gave them an opportunity to reevaluate their options. The Bulldogs came back in field goal formation, but it was a fake, and they went for a pass that went incomplete. Royal took over on offense and took a knee to start the celebration of their sixth straight 1A state championship.  

In celebration, many of the Knights players were overcome with emotion. Jenks summed up the significance of this win for them.  

“High school is just a small part of our life, but it really shapes our future and the way we put effort and put things that matter first forward. You got to thank God for everything he's put in our life, we got to be thankful for every opportunity we have,” Jenks said.  

BOX SCORE:  

CASH: 0-6-8-6: 20 

ROYL: 7-7-7-0: 21 

    The Knights’ Dax Jenks (6) crosses the goal line for a 22-yard touchdown run against Cashmere in the 1A state championship game. Jenks accounted for two touchdowns against the Bulldogs.
  

    Jackson Flood tackles the Cashmere ball carrier in the backfield. The Knights held off a late comeback attempt by the Bulldogs in the 1A state championship game.
  

    The Knights’ defense lines up to bring the pressure on Cashmere’s next offensive play. Shea Stevenson and Fischer Livingston each picked off the Cashmere quarterback in the 1A state championship game.
  

    Fischer Livingston (12) is overcome with emotion as the clock strikes zero and the Knights won their sixth straight 1A state championship.
  

    Fischer Livingston (12) picks off the Cashmere quarterback late in the first half. This play allowed the Knights to go into halftime with a 14-6 lead.