ROYAL CITY – On Friday, the Royal Knights (7-0) and the Wahluke Warriors (2-5) met in a South Central Athletic Conference game. The Knights were dominant offensively, defeating the Warriors 65-6.  

“We’re trying to focus on improving some areas of our offense, defense, special teams and especially in the screen game. I thought we did a good job of that early on and then got to (play) some of our next guys, and I think both teams played really hard, so it was fun for us,” Knights Head Coach Wiley Allred said.   

The Knights did most of their damage in the first half. Quarterback Grand Wardenaar distributed the ball between receivers Fischer Livingston and Shea Stevenson for multiple touchdowns.   

Livingston caught three touchdown passes from Wardenaar from 13, 19 and 24 yards. Stevenson had two in the first quarter from 41 yards out and a 25-yard touchdown on fourth down, which included shedding multiple Warriors tacklers along the sideline.   

“I try to give every play 100% effort. My quarterback Grant put it on me pretty good, and I just try to get open,” Stevenson said.   

In the second quarter, Bryan Larsen, Dax Jenks and Brody Bishop also found their way into the endzone to give the Knights a 58-0 lead at halftime. In the third quarter, Allred rested his starters and allowed some of his depth guys to get some playing time.   

“We're trying to get other guys some depth built and give them some experience and some opportunities. Honestly, I thought they did a good job of playing hard through the whole game and (Wahluke) made us continue to work hard for everything,” Allred said.   

The Warriors decided to air it out more in the second half. Late in the third quarter, quarterback Keaton Zirker launched the ball up the right sideline to Jose Acevedo for a 30-yard touchdown to cut the score to 58-6.   

“Just two guys knowing what they're supposed to do and going out there and executing. That's what we talk about a lot, everyone’s got to know what their job is, and they got to go out there and execute no matter who's on the other side of the ball. That play was a good example of that,” Warriors Head Coach Anfernee Cortez said.   

With a running clock, the fourth quarter quickly arrived. The Knights took over the ball and began to move the ball downfield. Hendrix Brown took a handoff 12 yards for their final score of the game. The clock ran out on the Warriors' next drive, and the Knights officially secured their seventh win of the season.   

With a couple of weeks left, Cortez hopes to see his players maintain a competitive mindset to finish the season strong.   

“I think putting that mindset in the players, no matter what, we're here to play football and we learn from this game and go and prepare for the next one, we always prepare to win, and that's our mindset, and we want to go out there and play hard,” he said.   

For Allred and the Knights, they just want to continue to improve as the postseason gets closer.   

“We're just trying to improve on things that we need to improve on because probably the toughest part of our league schedule is done, and so we'll just try to hone in on things that we need to do to get better,” Allred said.   

Stevenson shares similar sentiments on seeing him and his teammates improving. However, he said the Knights are ready for what’s next.   

“I'm ready, I think our team is ready. We still got some improvement to do and some stuff to work on, but I don't want it to come to an end. I think our team's coming together pretty well. I'm pretty excited for a playoff run and the games coming up,” Stevenson said.   

The Warriors return home Oct. 24 to host Zillah at 7 p.m.  

The Knights hit the road to face Naches Valley on Oct. 24 at 7 p.m.  

BOX SCORE:  

WHLK: 0-0-6-0: 6  
ROYL: 32-26-0-7: 65 

    The Knights and Wahluke Warriors trenches line up for the next play. The Knights scored 58 points in the first half alone.
  

    Royal's Brody Bishop (24) chases down Wahluke’s Christian Anaya (20) on the Warriors offensive drive. Bishop recorded two tackles for loss on Friday.
  

    Wahluke’s Keaton Zirker (15) passes the ball against the Knights on Friday. Zirker had a 30-yard touchdown pass to Jose Acevedo on Friday.
  

    Shea Stevenson (23) breaks into open space against the Wahluke secondary on Friday. Stevenson had two catches for 66 yards and two touchdowns.
  

    The Knights’ Grant Wardenaar looks downfield for a pass after breaking out of the pocket. Wardenaar had 260 yards passing and seven total touchdowns.