Friday night was all about changing the script for the No. 1 Roy Royals, whether it was changing positions or changing fate.
Head coach Chris Solomona and the Royals changed the script in a lot more ways than one as they punched their long-awaited ticket to the 5A state championship semifinal round with a 43-29 win over No. 8 Viewmont, earning a much-coveted trip to Rice-Eccles Stadium next Friday.
One change of script for the Royals themselves was a personnel change on defense, as slot receiver Kahekili Eleneke got the nod in practices this week to play at safety.
It couldn’t have worked out much better for the senior, as he collected a well-timed interception late in the third quarter to stall a confident Viewmont drive and steal whatever momentum the Vikings had left.
“Coach came up to me and told me I was playing safety this week,” Eleneke said. “Playing safety’s fun. I was in man (defense), and I turned around and located it and just picked it off, and it felt great.”
It was another change of script for Roy to get out to a better start than it had the last time it stepped on the field with Viewmont. The Vikings, in the midst of a breakout year of their own, ran out to a shocking 14-0 lead in the first quarter of their Week 8 matchup a month ago before the Royals turned things around for an eventual win.
Whatever upset-minded thoughts coach Andru Jones and the Vikings had early on, Roy put them to bed in a flash.
In the first 8:29 of play Roy only ran 10 offensive plays, but those were enough to get three touchdowns on the board and build a 21-0 lead.
Roy checked just about every box of a signature Royal win, scoring on a 53-yard catch by Zay Morris, after which Logan Cella ran in untouched on the next drive for 8 yards.
Robert Young capped off the opening flurry with a 2-yard TD run, falling forward to pick up the points.
“Our whole entire week was about starting fast,” Gardner said. “The last time we played them, they went up 14-0. We had a very slow start. The one thing we talked about all week was starting fast and scoring quickly.”
Needing to stop the bleeding Friday, Viewmont drove the field in seven plays, capping it off with a 10-yard keeper as quarterback Titan Longson hit paydirt to get the Vikings on the board.
As the initial scoring tornado slowed down, Roy kicker Colby Frokjer scored the last points of the first half with a 27-yard field goal.
While still in control of the game throughout, the Royals offense left some points on the board with drives that ended in the red zone, though Frokjer hit another field goal from 29 yards early in the third quarter to help kickstart the scoring again before Viewmont answered it with a Longson dart to a wide-open Cache Tuia for a 30-yard score to get within 13.
That’s when the Royals turned the heat back up. Gardner found Young on a deep corner route to the end zone for 24 yards, giving Young his second TD of the game and his 31st of the season.
After Eleneke’s interception, Roy’s ensuing drive stalled out and the Royals punted to Viewmont’s 8-yard line, but two plays later, sophomore linebacker Sam Smith broke through for a sack in the end zone on Longson, converting a safety.
Yet one more signature Royal drive to go, Gardner hit Morris on a slant for a 13-yard TD to prove the final exclamation point on a convincing quarterfinal victory.
It’s a moment years in the making for Roy’s talented senior class, many of whom were starting as sophomores when the Royals were contenders in the old 6A Region 2.
Getting to play on the Utes’ field is a rare luxury in high school, rarer still for the less-decorate 5A schools like Roy that reside north of the Salt Lake County border.
“Since our sophomore year, we’ve been wanting to make it there,” Eleneke said. “Last year we felt like we lost to a team that we felt we were pretty significantly better than, but they got the best of us. It feels good to beat Viewmont and get there this year and accomplish our goal…but we’re not done yet.”
Indeed, the Royals are still cognizant and confident in the No. 1 ranking they came into the playoffs with. They’ll truly put it to the test in taking the biggest football name in 5A next week: No. 4 Timpview.
Ironically, the last time the two faced off in 2018, Roy came away with a 20-14 win in the 5A quarterfinals.
“We know who’s waiting for us over there at Rice-Eccles,” Solomona said. “We’re excited to be back there, but that’s not our main goal. Our main goal is a championship. We’re still capable of it.”