CINCINNATI, OH. – Warner Football falls to Cincinnati Christian in the 2019 Season Opener. Royals head coach
Kirk Talley says, "We are continuing to make progress while learning to play Double Win Football."
It was not the season opener that Royals fans were hoping for however, Warner is on the way up and showed a lot of promise under new head coach
Kirk Talley.
Kirk Talley hit the ground from day one stating that, "we will not be making massive changes right away, but you will see some small adjustments." It was easy to spot the difference with the new and improved Royals offense as they struck first blood early on and sparked a very strong first half. Behind the speed and precision of sophomore quarterback
Michael Young, the Royals struck early capping off a 7 play 67-yard drive with a 9-yard scamper from
Michael Young finding pay dirt.
The Cincinnati Christian Eagles answered with a touchdown at the end of the 1
stquarter then again on their next drive taking a 12-7 lead over the Royals.
With 00:22 remaining in the half,
Michael Young connected with
Trevon Jackson who hauled in a 43-yard pass finding the endzone and vaulting the Royals over the Eagles 14-12.
The Royals received the kick to start the 2
ndhalf. A James Edding 37-yard return off of the kick set the Royals up in fairly good field position. What looked to be a quick 3 & out turned into trickery as
Robert Mast caught a direct snap off of the punt and busted through the line for 8-yards earning the first down. The next play the Royals got into field goal position as
Michael Young connected with
Frederick Robinson for 26-yards. The offense again stumbled, and it set up a 31-yard field goal attempt by
Santiago Tovar who knocked it through with no issues. The Royals struck on the opening drive of the 2
ndhalf and took a 17-12 lead over the Eagles.
The Eagles answered on the immediate drive with a Touchdown then a 2-point conversion taking the lead 20-17. In the midst of moving the offense right along,
Michael Young exited the game at the start of the 4th quarter due to injury. The Royals offense struggled from that point and could not recover as they could not overtake the Eagles dropping the season opener 17-20. Royals head coach
Kirk Talley stated, "We are better that what showed up to the field today. We will continue to make progress while learning to play Double Win Football."
Cincinnati Christian picked up their first ever win as a program and did so in a convincing manor. The Eagles mustered up 445 offensive yards with 174-yards on the ground and 271-in the aerial attack. The Royals respectively added 295 total offensive yards with 102-yards on the ground and 193-yards in the passing attack.
Michael Young finished his game with 16 competitions on 31 attempts with 184 yards, 1 rushing TD and 1 passing TD.
Javon Wilson saw a majority of the snaps with 16 carries for 43 yards. The Royals really spread things out in the passing game with four receivers catching 3+ passes. The senior wide receiver
Theodore Hammonds let the way with 6 catches for 75 yards connecting on a long of 29-yards.
Kama Jackson led the defense with 9 total tackles, 6 of them being solo.
Daquan Lee also stepped in with 9 tackles, 5 solo tackles and 4 assisted.
Jalen Jones and
Jacoby Wood both were a passing threat as they finished the game with a passing breakup each.
Rodelson Petit,
Jacoby Wood and
Jacob Ross all registered a forced fumble in the game as well showing a great outlook for the Royals defense.
The Royals punter and back up QB
Dylan Blair finished the game with 7 punts tallying 197-yards total with the longest being 38-yards.
Santiago Tovar nailed a 31-yard field goal and both of the Royals extra point attempts.
Warner football will have to wait two more weeks until they see the field again as the receive an early BYE next weekend. However, September 14
ththey travel to powerhouse NAIA No. 16 Bethel University in Mckenzie, TN. For the first ever meeting between the two schools.
For all of the latest breaking news in Warner athletics and Royals football visit
www.warnerroyals.com.
