The Cougars stayed with powerhouse Royal for a half, but Royal ruled the second half to win the Class 1A state championship football game Friday at Husky Stadium in Seattle
Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com
It was a loss on the scoreboard for the Seton Catholic Cougars.
It was a championship effort on the field, though.
Seton Catholic gave Royal everything it had Friday late afternoon in the Class 1A state championship football game.
For a half, this was anyone’s game.
That, in itself, is a story.
Because Royal does not typically play close games.
In the end, Royal pulled away from Seton Catholic for a 61-28 victory at Husky Stadium in Seattle, winning their fifth consecutive state title. The Knights had to earn this one, though.
Seton Catholic, playing in the state championship for the first time in program history, rallied with two touchdowns late in the first half to tie the game 21-all.
Ryker Ruelas, who made a diving touchdown catch earlier for Seton’s first touchdown, returned a kickoff 86 yards to make it 21-14 in the second quarter.
Later, after Seton Catholic recovered a Royal fumble, quarterback Kolten Gesser found Teddy Wieczorek on a touchdown pass to make it 21-all in the closing seconds of the half.
That score was enough to raise some eyebrows around the state. After all, Royal just does not play close games.
The Knights won their previous state playoff games this season by 37 and 44 points. Last year, they won four state playoff games by the combined score of 190-7.
For a half Friday, this one was close.
Even in defeat, this was an epic season for the Cougars. Seton Catholic won a program-record 12 games, won the Trico League championship, and reached the state finals.
The Knights were the powerhouse so many expected them to be in the second half Friday, scoring on their first two possessions of the second half to take control.
After that first third-quarter touchdown, Seton Catholic had a fourth-and-inches play that Joe Callerame broke free for an apparent touchdown. The officials ruled he had help, though. The penalty brought out the Seton punt team. The Cougars faked the punt, but the Knights looked like they knew it was coming and got the stop.
A few minutes later, Royal was in the end zone again for a 35-21 advantage.
In the fourth quarter, the Royal defense got into the scorebook with a pick-six to make it 41-21.
Just like that, the close game was no longer close.
Lance Allred was too much for the Seton defense, too. His fifth rushing touchdown gave Royal 48 points.
Seton Catholic was not done. The Cougars went the length of the field, converting a fourth-down play, and scored on a short TD pass to Ruelas.
Then it was Allred again, this time breaking a couple tackles en route to a 48-yard TD run. Allred had six TD runs and a TD pass.
The Royal defense would cap the scoring with another pick-six to get to 61 points.
Still, the Cougars know they were in this one for a half. And that is progress. A year ago, Royal beat Seton Catholic 42-0 in the semifinals.
This year, the Cougars made it to December, made it to Husky Stadium, and made it a game for a half.
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