The EMAK Report KING S WINS HOME OPENER Photo by Cindy Brune

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1 The EMAK Report KING S WINS HOME OPENER Photo by Cindy Brune September 9, 2015

2 The EMAK Report The EMAK Report: Volume: 6 Issue 1 K I N G S H I G H S C H O O L F O O T B A L L B U I L D I N G C H A M P I O N S W H I L E P U R S U I N G C H A M P I O N S H I P S September 9, 2015 King s ground game produces win over Lynden Knights by the numbers 269 YARDS TOTAL OFFENSE KOA WILKINS 3/6/1, 36 YARDS CALEB PERRY 85 RUSHING YARDS, 1 TOUCHDOWN JACKSON WHITAKER 59 RUSHING YARDS COOPER WRIGHT 48 RUSHING YARDS, 2 TOUCHDOWNS ANDREW CLINE 84 ALL PURPOSE YARDS DEFENSE LIMITED LYNDEN TO 37 TOTAL RUSHING YARDS COOPER WRIGHT 9 TACKLES, JAKE WELCH 9 TACKLES Photo by Cindy Brune In the second quarter Caleb Perry broke free on a 66 yard counter to give the Knights a 14-7 lead. Perry finished the night leading all rushers with 85 yards on nine carries. EDMUND SUNDQUIST AND DUNCAN CULL SHARED 3 SACKS BEN HERMES 1 INTERCEPTION, 8 TACKLES Wilkins injury forces change at quarterback for three quarters Last Friday night the Knights outmuscled the Lynden Lions on the line of scrimmage on their way to a win in their season opener at Woolsey Stadium. Midway through the first quarter the Knights took the lead on a five yard run by Cooper Wright. Jack Van Dyke added the extra point to give the Knights a 7-0 lead. Lynden answered quickly however when Jordan Wittenberg returned the kick off 85 yards for the equalizer. The score remained knotted at 7 all until the middle of second period when King s was forced to make an offensive adjustment. Following a shoulder injury to senior quarterback Koa Wilkins that sidelined him for the rest of the game, the Knights inserted Jackson Whitaker in at quarterback and went to their ground game. On the second play with Whitaker at quarterback, junior Caleb Perry broke free for 66 yards on a counter to give the Knights a 14-7 lead that they took into halftime. The third quarter was mostly a defensive struggle as King s produced only 39 yards of offense and Lynden could only muster 54 yards. Lynden tied the game early in the fourth quarter following a fumble recovery at the Knight s 40 on a three yard run by Sterling Somers. The Knights answered on their next drive. With just over eight minutes to play King s put together a ten play sixty yard drive that was culminated by a twelve yard run on an off tackle play by Wright to take the lead for good. Also contributing in that drive was junior Andrew Cline, Whitaker, and Perry. Defensively the Knights held Lynden to just 37 yards rushing. Leading the Knights defensively were Jake Welch, Edmund Sundquist, Ben Hermes, Cline, Whitaker and Wright. Also contributing with an interception was Hermes. With the win, King s opens the season with a 1-0 record. King s next game will be this Friday evening at Woolsey Stadium against the Lakeside Lions. Kickoff will be at 7p.m.

3 The EMAK Report The Scoring Line: King s 21 - Lynden 14 1 st 2 nd 3 rd 4 th Total King s Lynden Scoring Summary K Cooper Wright 5 yd run (Jack Van Dyke kick) L Jordan Wittenberg 85 yard kickoff return (Wittenberg kick) K Caleb Perry 66 yard run (Van Dyke kick) L Sterling Somers 3 yard run (Per Wolfisberg kick) K Wright 12 yard run (Van Dyke kick) Game Stats for September 4, 2015 vs. Lynden Team: King's Lynden Rushing Passing Total Comp 3/8/1 14/25/1 1st Downs Punt Ave. 1/30.ave 1/36 ave Fumbles/lost 1/1 1/0 Inside the Huddle: Adjustments - Shapiro s staff did it again Penalties 2/20 yds. 4/40 yds. Last year I wrote a column praising the King s Knights coaching staff for their halftime adjustments. My point in that column was that nobody does halftime adjustments better than Jim Shapiro and his King s Knights staff. I took some good natured criticism when I wrote that column though. Seems most of my examples were of games when the adjustments, as effective as they were, were not quite enough to win the game. A loss is still a loss so it seems. Fair enough. Okay, after Friday night though, it s time to revisit that theme and for my critics who shall remain nameless, this one s for you. Going into Friday night everyone knew that it had the makings to be a competitive game. Early in the second quarter, no one was disappointed. The score was knotted at seven all and both teams were trading punches. Then everything changed and things got dicey. On the first rushing play of the second quarter, Koa Wilkins ran inside for eight yards before being tackled. He landed awkwardly and came up with his left arm dangling limply at his side. It was a shoulder injury of some kind and he was done for the night. Most teams would have folded under those circumstances. Not King s though. Three months earlier during spring ball, one of the things they had worked on was Jackson Whitaker at quarterback in a wildcat formation. Originally because all of the quarterbacks were either at basketball practice (the Knights alternate emphasis days during spring practice to accommodate their dual sport athletes) or somewhere else, they ran Whitaker at quarterback during drills just so they could practice. They learned some- thing. Not only was Whitaker good enough at the position to run drills effectively, he was good enough there that he was a viable option if the situation arose where they had to use him there in a game. Friday night was just such an occasion. For the remainder of the second quarter, the Knights scrapped their single back spread formation in favor of a double tight formation featuring both tight ends Duncan Cull and Edmund Sundquist and a backfield that would have Whitaker and two running backs. It worked. On the second play with Whitaker at quarterback, junior running back Caleb Perry, arguably the fastest player on the Knights roster, broke free on a counter and gave the Knights a 14-7 lead on a 66 yard run. Having weathered a storm and possessing a seven point lead, Shapiro s staff had fifteen minutes to come up with a plan for the rest of the game. No problem. Their line was winning the game at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball so they adjusted the game plan to stay with Whitaker and the wildcat formation until Lynden stopped it. Lynden never did. In the fourth quarter with the game tied, King s drove sixty yards in ten plays to take the lead for good. Andrew Cline produced an eleven yard run. Whitaker pounded Lynden s interior and the final twelve yards came from Cooper Wright to give the Knight s seven points to secure the win. Looking back, that was a game that most teams would have lost. You don t just lose your quarterback and keep on keeping on...unless you re good at making adjustments. Shapiro s staff is. They re one of the best in the business and it shows.

4 The EMAK Report: Down on the Farm: J.V. Knights lose at Lynden On Monday afternoon at Lynden, the J.V. Knights fell to the Lynden Lions The Knights scored on two touchdown passes from Ryker Roberts to Luke Wicks and Jace Fransen. The J.V. Knights next game will be this Monday at Lakeside. Fans are advised that this is an earlier game. Kick off will be at 4:00. Father - Son Ultimate Football.

5 The EMAK Report: The Photo Gallery Photos on this page courtesy of Dianna Roach