Royals overpower rival Elks

One of the oldest adages in football is games are won and lost in the trenches. When programs play the Elk River Elks and their run-heavy offense – if you don't hold your own at the line of scrimmage – you don't stand a chance. The 3-1 Elks traveled south to play the 3-1 Rogers Royals on Friday night. From the first snap of the game, the Royals did what they had to do in the trenches. They dominated on the line of scrimmage. They dominated to the tune of a 30-7 victory. Elk River got an early break when Rogers fumbled in their end of the field. The Royals were trying to convert a fourth and short, but a botched quarterback, running back exchange resulted in a five-yard loss – giving the ball to the Elks deep in Rogers' territory. Rogers' Tyler Johnson and Anthony Powell blew up a second down run, and then the defensive line dropped another Elks' running back behind the line forcing a fourth down. It was the Royals' chance to catch a break when the Elks over-threw a wide-open receiver. Instead of a 6-0 deficit, the Royals had the ball back. The defensive stand sparked the Royals' offense. The running game started rolling, and they mixed in some high percentage passes to move into Elks' territory. The right side of Rogers' offensive line began to dominate. Wyatt Bell and Reiken Downs started blowing their guys back. They ran right to pick up a third and short. Then Eric Pearson finished off the drive with a 15-yard touchdown run – the first touchdown on the Royals' brand new football field. "It starts up front," Rogers' head coach Marc Franz said. "They never get enough credit. You've got to love the linemen. They don't care who scores; they just work to move the ball forward. Our team took a step towards the personality of a lineman. We are playing together." Both defenses would force punts, but Rogers picked up a huge chunk of field position when Owen Kanzler booted a 52-yard punt that kicked sideways inside the five allowing his teammates to down the kick at the two. The Royal's defense gave the ball right back to their offense when they recovered a fumble inside the Elks' ten-yard line. Three plays later, Mitch Jezierski – running the Wildcat quarterback – scored from two yards out to take a 13-0 lead. Down two scores, the Elks got right back into the game. They got their running game going. Shane Rademacher found some room off tackle for 27 yards. PJ Bono capped off a lightning-fast four-play touchdown drive with an eight-yard touchdown run. Whatever momentum the visitors gained was quickly taken away. Facing a third and eight, Pearson caught a swing pass, bounced off a tackle that would have been for a short loss, and got down the sidelines and picked up 20 yards. Quarterback Tyson Vylasek was under a lot of pressure but took a hit and got the ball out into the flat. Later, Rogers faced a 4th and two at the Elk's 34, and Vylasek came up clutch again. He hit Pederson on an out pattern for a first down. They converted yet another third down as Powell powered behind his offensive line to grind out a short gain to move the chains. Rogers would finish the drive when Vylasek threw a fade just over the defender. Pederson made a juggling catch in the corner of the end zone to expand the lead to 20-7. "Tonight was the first game I felt like we got into a rhythm," Franz said. "We have played some good football in short stretches, but tonight we strung plays together. When Elk River made a big play, they didn't let it affect them. They went on to the next one. Elk River looked like they were going to answer back late in the first half. They would get inside the ten-yard line, but the Rogers' defensive line stuffed a fourth and short run with less than a minute to go. Elk River would not seriously threaten to score again. The defensive line and linebackers would make sure of that. The Royals' running game started to grind out first downs, moving the chains and eating the clock. They would get inside the ten but would settle for a 21-yard field goal by Dylan Honnoll. Leading 23-7, it was only a matter of time before the Royals put the game away. The defense would put the nail in the coffin. Elk River stayed alive by converting on a fourth down, but Powell hit the quarterback on the next play and stripped the ball away from the quarterback. Jezierski scooped up the loose ball and ran untouched into the end zone to cap off an impressive win.