Royals show growth on the gridiron
Photo by Dave Adamson on Unsplash
The scores are improving on the field.
As September is drawing to a close, the Royals football program has seen great strides in terms of performances on the field and improvement over our bye week to come up with a tie in the Junior Varsity (JV) game and a heartbreaking 1-point loss in the varsity game against Natomas on Friday, September 24.
In JV action, quarterback Tre’Veon Henderson threw an early TD pass and defender Dominick Huffaker caught an interception and returned it for a long TD to give the Royals a lead late in the game. However, after a fumble near midfield, Natomas ended up scoring with only four seconds left to play to tie the game at 14. Armijo had to stop the 2-point conversion attempt to at least tie, and the defense stood strong, stopping Natomas from getting in and securing the positive result after two disappointing losses in their previous games. Tejon Buckner was a defensive stand out for the Royals.
In the Varsity game, the Royals came out to an electric start when Keshaun Williams returned the opening kick off for a TD. For the rest of the game, Natomas kicked every kickoff out of bounds for fear of giving up another score. In a game that featured our Quarterback Eddie Concepcion running for a 49-yard TD and connecting with Dameion Regalado on a 90-yard TD pass, the game was close throughout.
With fewer than two minutes to go, Armijo trailed by seven. On fourth down and long, with the game looking out of hand, Concepcion went to his favorite target Regalado with an acrobatic 37-yard TD with the ball pinned to the defender’s helmet. Down only one point, if we could punch in the 2 point conversion, we could secure our 2nd victory of the season, but the Royals were unsuccessful, losing 25-24.
Individually, Concepcion threw for 212 yards and led the team in rushing with 76. Regalado also set the all-time school record for receiving yards across two games with an impressive 344.
Defensively, Armijo limited Natomas to only a few big plays and kept the team in the game. Safety Kaiba Washington racked up an impressive 11 tackles to lead the team, with help from Guy Fortson (four tackles), Keshaun Williams (three), Jesus Munguia (three), Jericho Johnson (three and a blocked kick), and Aaron Castro (two and a fumble recovery).
League play begins in October with a visit to Rodriguez High. The Royals are hoping to see fans over there in purple and gold supporting their teams, and will continue to work hard, bounce back, and make the school proud.
