Big plays just a Royal pain for Freeman

Coaches preach to their players about minimizing mistakes and not giving up big plays.

Conversely, when Freeman and Royal squared off at Central Valley High School Saturday in the State 1A football quarterfinals, their biggest fears about those very same clichés came to pass.

Big plays and mistakes decided the outcome, hurting the Scotties more in a season-ending 35-14 loss.

Both teams traded quick strikes during an entertaining 14-14 first quarter. Ultimately it was a late second-quarter interception that led to Royal’s go-ahead score and a muffed punt with 7:36 remaining in the game that spelled Freeman’s demise.

“We had them on the run, but couldn’t quite finish it off,” said Scotties coach Jim Wood. “And we made a couple mistakes down the stretch.”

In between Freeman (8-3) gave unbeaten and top-ranked Royal (12-0) all it could handle on defense, and a couple long pass completions early stunned the Knights.

“Freeman played an excellent game against us,” Royal coach Wiley Allred said.

Telling was the fact that the visitors punted five times in the game. They’d punted only nine times in their previous 11. And until a low-rolling punt bounced off a Freeman defender midway through the fourth quarter, Royal was clinging to a 21-14 lead.

Freeman’s Andrew Dresback and Andrew Wilkerson hooked up on a 64-yard completion the first play of the game putting the hosts at Royal’s 3-yard-line.

A holding penalty couldn’t keep them out of the end zone. Dresback found back Chris Davis for the game’s first score with just 2 minutes, 15 seconds gone.

Royal came back to tie following a nine-play, 80-yard drive only to have Dresback connect with Scott Ferguson on a 56-yard completion from the Scotties’ 20-yard line.

That set up another touchdown toss to Davis that covered 21 yards.

It didn’t take long for the Knights to tie the score. Their multi-receiver set against a blitzing defense and man coverage repeatedly enabled players to get behind the secondary.

On the touchdown, quarterback Ray Valle found wide-open A.J. Aldredge on an 85-yarder with 2:35 left to play in the quarter.

Both defenses settled in thereafter and the game was scoreless until near the end of the half.

With 1:25 to go Royal turned the ball over on downs. But Dresback threw the second of his four interceptions in the game and Valle hit Jeff Jack on third-and-8 for the go-ahead touchdown with 14 seconds remaining.

That’s how the game stayed until Royal recovered the muffed punt at Freeman’s 25-yard-line. Valle bulled in from 4-yard-line with 6:19 to go in the game for a two-touchdown lead.

The final score came following a failed Freeman fourth-down conversion 3 minutes later.

Valle completed 19 of 37 passes to eight different receivers for 313 yards.

“My receivers make my job easy,” he said. “I just have to pre-snap the right thing and they get open for me.”

Royal finished with 434 yards of total offense and a 24-8 first-down advantage. Freeman had 359 yards, but only 70 on the ground. Most of that was a 52-yard trap run by fullback Chris Swanson. Season rushing leader Davis netted just 19 yards on 16 carries.

“When you get to these levels you can’t make the mistakes,” said Wood. “It was a closer game than 35-14. They had to come and play today to beat us.”