ROYAL CITY – Royal junior quarterback Grant Wardenaar was an eighth-grader the last time the Knights lost a game.

He made darn sure Friday night the five-time defending Class 1A champs didn’t suffer another defeat.

No longer the understudy for two-time 1A player of the year Lance Allred, the 6-foot-4 lanky lefty starred in his big-stage debut. Wardenaar tossed two touchdown passes, snuck for another score and picked off a pass as the top-ranked Knights held off No. 2 Cashmere 21-15 in overtime, to survive their tightest contest since that loss more than three years ago.

“We were talking at halftime about how a little adversity never hurt anybody,” said Wardenaar, who threw for 260 yards. “It’s a big win, and it’s my first big win as starting quarterback.”

To get the 40th consecutive victory, though, the Knights had to tap into their championship mettle. 

Cashmere hadn’t given up a point in its first four contests, and seemed ready for a fifth shutout, taking an 8-0 lead to halftime on Jacoby Tait’s 1-yard plunge early in the second quarter.

“They’re not used to losing and they knew they had a chance and it was close,” Royal coach Wiley Allred said. “They’re gonna fight.”

The Bulldogs took the second half kickoff and drove to Royal’s 20-yard line, and threatened to extend the lead before Wardenaar stepped in front of a Rylan Hatmaker pass for an interception. 

On the ensuing drive, the Knights converted three third downs – the last one on a roughing-the-passer call – and Dax Jenks broke free for a 37-yard sprint to the Bulldogs 1-yard line.

Three plays later, Wardenaar dove in for the first points scored on Cashmere this season. He then passed to Jenks on the two-point attempt to tie the score.

The Bulldogs would counterpunch, going on a nine-play drive that was capped by Hatmaker hitting Isaac Zavala in stride for a 25-yard touchdown and a 15-8 lead.

Royal, too, would respond. Although he was quiet much of the game, Knights star receiver Shea Stevenson leaped to pull in a 49-yard pass. Four plays later, Wardenaar found Anderson Brown, who spun into the end zone for a touchdown and then added the extra point.

“I think he grew a lot at the quarterback position tonight,” Allred said.

Cashmere took its turn in the back-and-forth action, with Hatmaker finding Tom McDevitt for a 46-yard pass play. This drive, however, would stall and the Bulldogs turned it over on downs.

Royal also went on the move, just getting over the 50-yard line before a fumble ended the threat with 2:13 left in the game.

Neither team would do much in the final moments of regulation, sending the game into overtime. 

Cashmere took the ball first and was unable to move it, leaving the Bulldogs with a 41-yard field goal attempt which was no good.

Royal tried to end the game on its first play, only to see McDevitt nearly send the contest to a second overtime with a leaping interception.

The ball, however, dislodged when he landed on the turf, and the Knights retained possession. Royal drove to the Cashmere 13, and on a third and eight, Wardenaar rolled to his right and found Jenks with a short toss and the junior running dove into the end zone with the winning score.

“I’m not one for moral victories, that’s what I told the guys,” Cashmere coach Bryan Bremer said. 

“This was a heavyweight battle and we didn’t come out on top.”

Of course, following last year’s script, this might just be the first of two meetings for the teams, the second being late in the postseason.

“I’ve seen some really good football teams and that’s one of them,” Allred said.