Knights set for semifinal game at home Saturday

Nov. 28—ROYAL CITY — This weekend, the Royal Knights (11-0) will host the Lynden Christian Lyncs (10-1) at home Saturday at 3 p.m. in the semifinals of the 1A state football tournament. With a win, the Knights could be headed back to the state championship game; however, they remain focused on one game at a time.

"We can't stay idle. We can't just think we're good right now," Shea Stevenson said after their win over Seton Catholic. "We got to keep working. We got to learn from this game and learn from our other games."

In a rematch of the 2025 state championship game, the Knights hosted the Seton Catholic Cougars in the quarterfinals. After jumping out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, including a pick-six by Stevenson, Royal piled on 20 more points before halftime.

They held the Cougars to one score in the first half and only a field goal in the second half. After adding two more scores in the third quarter, the Knights ran out the clock to secure the 48-10 win.

Offensively, Royal imposed their will against Seton Catholic. Grant Wardenaar completed 19 of 25 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns. Both touchdowns went to Stevenson, who caught eight balls for 135 yards. On the run, Dax Jenks carried the rock nine times for 139 yards and two touchdowns. Wardenaar also ran for a score to help the Knights earn the win.

On defense, Stevenson earned a second pick after the Cougars attempted a flea-flicker play.

"(Stevenson's) one of the best ball players around, he does everything, blocks, tackles," head coach Wiley Allred said. "He does the little things that nobody sees, and he's a kid with the ball in his hands who's dangerous."

Bryan Larsen had four total tackles, two solo and two assisted. He also logged a sack and two tackles for loss. Brody Bishop logged five assisted tackles to stunt any momentum the Cougars tried to build.

As they look ahead, the Knights' offense will have quite a challenge in Lynden Christian. The Lyncs have only suffered one loss this season. They lost to Mt. Baker 34-33 on Oct. 17. Since then, they have won four straight games.

In their overall season, they have outscored their opponents 464-147. However, the Knights will also be their biggest challenge to date. Royal has outscored their opponents 618-41, and six of their nine regular-season games were shutout wins.

As successful as their offense has been this season, Allred said the Knights don't rely on one aspect of offense to move the ball downfield. Depending on the trends of the game, they will respond accordingly in the pursuit of playoff success.

"We're going to have to be a little bit creative, imposing our will is important in these playoff games," Allred said. "Some games we need to run the ball more, and some games we will need to throw the ball more. We just want to be able to do what we need to do to be successful."

As we get later in the season, maintaining player health and strong mental focus will be key for the Knights to remain in the win column.

"Staying healthy and staying focused and ready to go so we can give it our best shot," Allred said.