Please go to this link – https://westcoastpreps.com/poll/mens-athlete-of-the-week-voting-8-23-22/ – and vote Kaiba Washington for Athlete of the Week for Friday night’s game against El Camino on August 19!

The Armijo Royals football teams travelled to El Camino and battled against a 2021 playoff team, losing by only a score on both the JV and Varsity levels.

Playing in the 100-degree weather, the Varsity offenses started out even hotter than the weather. At one point in the first quarter, offensive touchdowns were scored on three straight plays from scrimmage, two for El Camino and one for Armijo, which was a 71-yard touchdown from sophomore quarterback Willie Nickson to senior receiver Kaiba Washington.

The Armijo defense struggled to contain the run early in the game and El Camino capitalized, putting up 28 points through the first quarter and a half. But coaching adjustments, quality conditioning by our team to battle through the heat, and great teamwork held El Camino without scoring for nearly 30 minutes of game time. Fifteen different Royals registered an individual tackle, led by junior Jericho Johnson with seven and a sack. Junior Jordan Brown had five tackles, one for loss, and a fumble recovery. Washington added an interception just before halftime and junior Julian Soto had a fumble recovery and six individual tackles.

Once the defense started getting stops, the special teams and offense followed suit. Freshman Josiah Chavez created opportunities with a long punt return, kickoff return, and 40-yard rush to set up a score.

The Royals tied the game 28-28 in the 4th quarter following two running scores by Nickson and one by sophomore Ryan Lee. Two 2-point conversions for the Royals came up short, but we still had a chance to win the game, starting from our own one yard line. After a first down, the Armijo offense lost the ball, and El Camino scored a 20-yard touchdown pass with only five seconds left on the clock. The final score was El Camino 36, Armijo 28.

The ability to comeback from being down three scores showed the determination and new focus for a program that is working on building a shift in mindset while also trying to get winning results. We see this loss as a step in the right direction that should lead to better results when league play begins.

The JV game followed a similar script. An Armijo fumble on the opening kickoff led to an El Camino touchdown on a shortened field. The Armijo defense played amazing and did not allow another score for the remainder of the game.

Following a quarterback change at halftime, the Armijo offense started moving the ball well, eventually leading to a 3rd quarter score to narrow the lead to 8-6. Again, an Armijo offense was on a drive in the final minute in order to win the game, and again came up short. With less than 10 seconds to go, a pass fell short to the feet of a receiver and El Camino kneeled to end the game.

Freshman Kimani Dokes was an important player for the Royals, leading the team in tackles with six, rushing for 41 yards and the lone TD, leading the team in passing with three completions for 79 yards, and even catching two passes. Freshman Elijah Thompson assisted the offense with three catches for 74 yards. The defense was aided by 10 different Royal players completing a tackle; Freshman Camarri Hayes had five tackles; Sophomore lineman Gabriel Burciaga, freshman linebacker Malakai Lee, and Thompson had three tackles each.