In another plot twist across the ever-changing times we’ve had the last few years, the Junior Varsity (JV) and Varsity football games that were to be played August 27 at Pioneer turned into a Varsity-only game against Pioneer, but hosted at Armijo due to air quality conditions in Yolo County.

Our Royals did not seem fazed by the change of venue early on, forcing two fumbles on the first two Pioneer possessions. Keshaun Williams and Julian Soto recovered these fumbles for the defense early on, giving the offense good field position. Unfortunately, our offense wasn’t able to capitalize.

A “pick 6” (interceptions returned for a touchdown) thrown by Armijo led to a few consecutive Pioneer TD drives that put the game out of reach by the middle of the 3rd quarter. We eventually lost 44-6.

Another defensive highlight came from TJ Lipkins when he intercepted a pass from his lineman position. This set up the only score of the day for our team, and the first passing touchdown of the season, with Eddie Concepcion Garcia connecting with Kaiba Washington for an 11-yard catch in the back corner of the end zone. Washington led the Royal receivers with four catches for 60 yards.

Isiah Medina was a dual threat, leading the defense with five tackles, and offensively running for a team-leading nine times for 32 yards. Guy Fortson also helped out on both sides of the ball by getting 4 tackles and having one of the biggest plays from scrimmage, which was a 19-yard catch on 4th and 18 in the first quarter.

Defensively, Williams also contributed five tackles, and Soto had three.

Next week, we have (another!) home game against Mission, from San Francisco. This will be a special contest because we will celebrate each decade of Armijo football alumni at halftime of the varsity game. We will also have food from Peaky’s gourmet food truck. We’d love to see everyone’s support for our past graduates and to come enjoy some great food on Friday.