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Behind Young’s big night, Roy football holds off Cyprus to take region victory

By Bob Judson - Special to the Standard-Examiner | Sep 30, 2022
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Roy High running back Robert Young, left, dashes for a touchdown against Cyprus during a Region 2 football game Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, in Roy. (Photo supplied, Gordon E. Doxey)
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Roy High lineman Cade Draper (65) lifts running back Robert Young (5) in celebration after a touchdown against Cyrpus during a Region 2 football game Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, in Roy. (Photo supplied, Gordon E. Doxey)

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ROY — There is a saying that possession is nine-tenths of the law, but Roy didn’t need ownership of the football all that often on Friday night against Cyprus to pull out a big win.

While no official time of possession record was available after the game, Cyprus clearly won that battle. But it was the Royals who came out on top in a 34-30 Region 2 thriller.

Sophomore wide receiver/running back Robert Young scored three touchdowns for the Royals on two receptions, one each from sophomore quarterback Colby Frokjer and sophomore quarterback Dru Gardner, and a TD run to lead the attack.

Young finished with 72 yards on five carries with one score, and both of his receptions went for touchdowns, totaling 127 yards.

Roy tallied five touchdowns and its longest time of possession the entire game was a six-play drive to open the third quarter that lasted 3 minutes, 10 seconds and resulted in a 28-0 lead.

On that touchdown, Young grabbed a short pass from Frokjer on the left sideline and his 5-foot-6, 145-pound frame danced through the Cyprus secondary for a 61-yard run to paydirt, giving the Royals a seemingly insurmountable lead.

“I ran a flat route and my QB found me, and I just made people miss and scored down the sideline,” Young said.

Then things got interesting.

Cyprus (3-5, 1-3 Region 2) scored three straight touchdowns and suddenly it was 28-22 with 4:35 left in the fourth quarter.

“I felt our defense got shy a little; they didn’t want to hit No. 18 (Skyler Armenta), their quarterback. He’s a pretty big guy,” Young said. “On offense, we kind of went downhill. We weren’t calling correct plays and giving the ball to players who can handle it.”

Roy (5-3, 3-1) then countered with its longest scoring drive of the night, running seven plays and 2:32 off the clock, ending in a 4-yard run by DaeQwan Snider to go up 34-22.

The Pirates closed the gap yet again with 16 seconds left, but Roy got the onside kick and a kneel down closed it out.

Armenta ran for two touchdowns, passed for another and rushed for an additional trio of two-point conversions to lead the Cyprus comeback.

The Royals used their quick-strike offense to pile up a 21-0 lead at the half, employing an impressive sophomore contingent to do the damage.

They only had the ball for 1 minute, 37 seconds in the first quarter but were efficient with two touchdowns in that limited time.

Sophomore running back Logan Cella capped a three-play, 57-second drive with a 22-yard touchdown run, giving Roy a 7-0 lead on its initial possession.

When the Royals got the ball back, it only took one snap for Frokjer to connect with Young on 13-second, one-play catch and run TD that covered 66 yards, making it 14-0 midway through the period.

“We just ran a concept; split the safeties and I just ran down the middle and was wide open,” Young said. “Our QB made a good read to throw it to me.”

Young again flashed his speed in the second stanza, sweeping right end and reaching paydirt with a 43-yard burst and a 21-0 edge. This drive lasted five plays and 2 minutes, 26 seconds, and was one of only two Roy possessions in the quarter.

“That was a designed RPO; I just bounced it outside and my receivers did really good blocking for me. Davon Harvey helped clear guys out for me,” Young said.

On the other hand, Cyprus then marched 16 plays from its own 18, had the ball for 5 full minutes and came away with zero points when the Royal defense stiffened in the red zone.

Both teams were hampered by 14 total penalties in the first half.

Young said that Roy’s fast pace is by design, saying “when we get together and everybody does their job at one time, every play, that’s when the offense starts rolling and clicking and scoring fast.”

It could also be argued that putting points up in a hurry can cause the defense to get gassed, especially against a run-oriented team like Cyprus.

“Maybe a little bit; we put them on the field a lot and against a running team, they were quick-snapping us and not letting them get set. They were getting tired,” Young said.

Whatever the case, Roy possessed what mattered in the end: a homecoming victory before a packed house.

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