Royal Knights Edged By Fivay Falcons

The Fivay Falcons defeated the River Ridge Royal Knights 41-34 on Wednesday night. Both teams showed strong offensive tactics but struggled with defense.

“As the game went on, I think both teams realized there’s some issues on the defensive side of the ball,” said River Ridge Head Coach Gary Allen.

The Knights' defense was allowing Fivay to pass all game. Early on, the Knights coaching staff urgently tried to blockthe “slant” passing route, but it opened up the field for passing deeper passes. The deep ball put the Knights at a disadvantage by allowing the Falcons good field position, which led to Falcon touchdowns.

The Knights' defense had a few a good defensive holds, led by linebacker Austin Schwarz, who led with six tackles and one sack. Although Schwarz did recognize that there needs to be improvement on the defensive side of the ball.

River Ridge’s running game was akin to Fivay’s passing game. The Knights scored five touchdown runs and one two-point conversion, all carried by Schwarz. He played on both sides of the field up until the end of the 3^rd quarter. Schwarz busted through what Schwarz described as, “huge” holes that the offensive line created for him, going at least five times for carries over 10-yards, two of which weretouchdowns. Schwarz credited River Ridge's offensive line for for blocking “fantastic” in the game.  Schwarz’s longest run was his last of the night, which was a 48-yard touchdown. it put the Knights up 34-28 with a minute and twenty seconds left on the clock in the 3^rd.

Knights starting quarterback Josh Maisel also had some nice carries for 15- and 22-yards. His completions were few but connected with tight-end Dylan Rutledge for two passes and two first downs.

The River Ridge starters remained on the sidelines entering the 4^th quarter, as that was the agreement made prior to the game with Knights Head Coach Gary Allen and his team.

“My number ones I’m pretty happy with,” said Allen. “Defensively, obviously we need to figure some things out.”

Overall, the Knights didn’t fare too badly against the Falcons' depth and speed, and they realize where they need to get better by patching up some areas on defense, particularly in the secondary. Had the “horses” for River Ridge stayed in the entire game, we would probably be looking at a different score. We won’t know for sure until the regular season, and won't have to wait long, as the first game is on August 2^nd.