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Roy • As Fremont lined up for the final play, down seven, with one second left, Roy fans must have been thinking: "Oh, no, here we go again."
The Royals lost in heartbreaking fashion in last year's homecoming game when Mountain Crest completed a desperation heave with no time remaining.
Not this time.
Angel Arvizo, one of the top defensive backs in the state, swatted the attempt to the ground and preserved the Royals' fifth straight win over their rivals, 27-20, on Friday.
"We just got to keep playing until the clock says zero," said Roy coach Fred Fernandes when asked what he told his team before the last play. "Knock down the ball. It's one play, and it's our game."
Fremont lived up to its billing as a top-five program on the first drive of the game, which culminated with a 39-yard run by Austin Freeman. Shortly thereafter, quarterback Saxton Morby located Jay Scott, who was left unattended, to establish a 13-0 lead after the point-after missed.
"We really shot ourselves in the first quarter," Fernandes said. "It seemed like every play was a major malfunction."
The Silver Wolves, who have appeared to be unstoppable for the first four weeks of the season, looked explosive offensively and were answering the challenge on the opposite end, but Roy gradually started to control the line of scrimmage.
Short run after short run opened up a bubble screen for Wynton Lamar late in the second quarter to move the Royals deep into Fremont territory, which eventually set up a 1-yard plunge for Trace Tupe to close the deficit to 13-7 at the break.
The momentum completely flipped on the opening series of the second half when sophomore Kyrese Rowan picked off Morby in his own end zone in man coverage.
The Royals promptly capitalized on the gift, with a 1-yard run by Hunter Mather, but the point-after try also failed, keeping the score at 13 apiece at 3:03 in the third.
It didn't stay that way for long. After the Royals stuffed Fremont on fourth-and-3 from their own 33 early in the fourth, quarterback Jaden Sabin connected with Angel Arvizo for a 53-yard touchdown, for a 19-13 lead, after missing the PAT again.
Arvizo, one of the state leaders in interceptions last year, jumped a middle route on the ensuing Fremont drive and then threw a successful pass on a reverse for a two-point conversion after Keenan Johnson scored on a 4-yard off-tackle.
Arivzo helped shut down Fremont's do-it-all receiver Haze Hadley, whom Fernandes referred to as the Silver Wolves' "binkie." The Royals, who scored 27 unanswered, put extra attention on him in coverage and dared other players to beat them.
"He's a good athlete, probably one of the best in the state," Arivzo said of Hadley. "We planned to double team him."
Fremont orchestrated its own retaliation in the fourth quarter. After converting fourth-and-13 and fourth-and-21, Morby capped the drive with a 9-yard quarterback keeper, cutting the score to 27-20.
Fremont forced Roy to punt on the subsequent series, but started the final drive of the game with three straight penalties. However, the Royals bailed them out with a pass interference on fourth down, allowing the one final play to unfold.
"There was one second left, so we knew they were going to throw a Hail Mary," Arivzo said. "Coach put us in a good position. I knew it was going to Haze, so I beat him there."
Twitter: @trevorphibbs —
Storylines
R Roy scores 27 unanswered points after falling behind 13-0.
• Angel Arivzo catches a touchdown pass, intercepts another, throws a two-point conversion, and knocks down a final Fremont attempt.
• It's the fifth straight win for the Royals against the Silver Wolves.