King’s Edges Montesano, Earns Chance to Claim 1A Crown
By Steve Dion

Being battle tested during the regular season pays dividends at this stage of the season. Coach Jim Shapiro’s tough schedule including games against Lynden and Archbishop Murphy have prepared the Knights for the state’s best in 1A. Montesano, who has knocked King’s out of the playoffs was the willing challenger for a ticket to the championship game.

King’s dominated this game across the board statistically including 395 to 160 total yards, 22 to 10 first downs, and 29:24 to 18:36 time of possession for King’s and Montesano respectively. However, the scoreboard did not reflect this fact. Back to back Knight touchdowns in the second quarter by Edmund Sundquist and Andrew Cline were quickly countered with a 97 yard kickoff return by Kylar Prante. Koa Wilkins extended the lead back to two touchdowns before the half on a goal line dive with mere seconds remaining.

Montesano’s attempt to climb back into the contest started with a Connor Lovell field goal early in the third. It was followed with a pick six by Keegan Darst minutes later which appeared to begin the momentum shift that could propel the Bulldogs to a win. However, Koa Wilkins led the troops down the field and converted another 1 yard quarterback sneak for a touchdown. Trailing ten points with five minutes to go, Monte was in desperation mode. They were able to cut the lead to a field goal with ninety seconds left when Logan Truax pulled in a Jake Herzog pass. A good-looking onside kick that simply wasn’t recovered by the defense was the final straw that allowed King’s to line up in victory formation.

The Final Score:
King’s 28, Montesano 25

Top Performer

King’s
Andrew Cline- 16 rush, 138 yards, TD

Montesano
Kylar Prante- 9 rush, 47 yards, 97-yard kickoff return TD