Royal wins 1A final
All year the Freeman Scotties had been able to handle any offensive blows thrown at them by their opponents. Twelve consecutive wins. Six shutouts. A defense that yielded just 52 points.
But they hadn’t faced a team like Royal, or a receiver like James Dykes.
The result: The Knights earned a 29-7 victory in the State 1A championship game Saturday morning, part of the Gridiron Classic in the Tacoma Dome.
“Our kids played well and they were in good spots (defensively),” Freeman coach Jeff Smith said, “(but) that kid (Dykes) was just fast and their quarterback put the ball in the right spot.”
Dykes, who tied a state record with seven career punt returns for scores, showed his speed early, getting behind the Scotties defense for a 66-yard reception on the Knights’ first play.
But, as would be the case much of the half, Freeman (12-1) held and Royal didn’t score.
The Scotties weren’t able to duplicate the feat early in the second quarter, when Dykes caught a short pass from Ray Valle, two Freeman defenders collided with each other and Dykes raced to a 52-yard score.
Freeman, making its first trip to a title game, tied it three minutes later on a long pass, 39 yards from Andrew Dresback to Andrew Wilkerson, when Dykes fell on the coverage.
With Royal’s main weapon, running back Jeff Jack, bottled up (he would finish with 87 yards rushing), the Scotties looked like they would head to the locker room tied. But …
“They ran their two-minute offense very well,” Smith said. “We did a good job defensively, but they got that one in the end zone on us.”
Jack’s 5-yard scoring run (his 41st of the year, fourth-best in state history) came with19 seconds left and culminated a drive carried by Valle’s arm.
The junior quarterback completed six passes on the drive, ending the half with 271 yards passing. He finished 17 of 29 for 332 yards, 160 of them gathered in by Dykes on five catches.
“The score was huge,” senior Kevin Hatch said. “To score with a bunch of big plays like that, it gave them momentum.”
“Our kids didn’t have their heads down,” Smith said. “They’re not unaccustomed to being behind. We had a few miscues and didn’t execute as well after halftime, but let’s not take anything away from them, they played very well.”
Especially on defense.
“They were the hardest-hitting team we played this year,” said Hatch, who pounded his way to 70 yards on 21 carries. “They take great pride in their defense, just like we do, and they fly to the ball.”
So did Freeman. Led by Rory Malloy, Hatch, Bryan Riggs and Michael Wittwer, the Scotties kept Royal (14-0) from the end zone in the second half until 9:04 left to play.
That’s when a coverage breakdown resulted in a 44-yard touchdown pass from Valle to uncovered tight end Josh Hubbard.
That back breaker was followed a possession later by the clincher, a 14-yard run by Valle.
Jack, who set state records this year with 86 extra-point kicks and 335 total points, made both conversions.
Through it all, Freeman couldn’t move the ball.
The Scotties finished with 208 yards of total offense but committed three turnovers.
“We went into this season with the goals of winning league and making the playoffs,” Smith said.
“We worked hard on the little things and kept improving, which is what great teams do.
“No. 2 in the state isn’t half bad,” he said before pausing and adding, “but obviously we would have liked to have been No. 1.”