Seton Catholic vs. Royal, 1A football state championship preview, livestream link and prediction
Preview of the 1A state championship football game:
Seton Catholic (12–0) vs. Royal (12-0)
When: 3 p.m. Friday
Where: Husky Stadium, Seattle
What: 1A state championship game.
Last week: Seton Catholic beat Life Montesano 35-14; Royal beat Cashmere 44-7
Livestream: NFHS Network/Eli Sports Network (subscription required)
Live updates: 360Preps high school sports blog.
Last meeting: Royal 42, Seton Catholic 0, Nov. 25, 2023.
Game notes: Here’s what you need to know about Royal: The Knights are really good … again. The Knights have won the last four consecutive 1A state championships. They enter Friday’s title game having won 34 straight games and 70 of their last 71. The closest game the Knights played this season was a 49-21 win over Zillah in Week 3. No team has held Royal to under 42 points all season. In the last seven games, Royal has not allowed an opponent to score more than 12 points. Quarterback Lance Allred, the reigning 1A state player of the return, is back for his senior year. Last week against Cashmere, Allred passed for four touchdowns and ran for two more. The Knights intercepted four passes against Cashmere. Seton Catholic returns nearly the entire team from the one that fell to Royal in the semifinals last year. Seton is certainly a better team this year than the Cougars were in 2023. The big question remains: How much have the Cougars’ closed the gap on Royal over the past 12 months? Quarterback Kolten Gesser has thrown for 2,383 yards and 41 touchdowns against just six interceptions. The Cougars have leaned into their running game a bit more in recent games. Jacob Williams has rushed for 1,784 yards and 22 touchdowns. Joe Callerame has nine rushing touchdowns and 10 receiving TDs. Ryker Ruelas has 42 catches for 894 yards and 16 TDs. Callerame had 40 receptions for 798 yards. Seton will need to be near-perfect against Royal, capitalize on every opportunity, win the turnover battle and limit penalties.
Prediction: Royal 34, Seton Catholic 14
