The Lynnwood Royals struck first against visiting Kamiak but could not stop their own mistakes and the Knights’ running game early on, losing 26-10 in the 4A

Wesco South opener for both teams at Edmonds District Stadium, Friday night, Sept. 27.

Ten penalties for 80 yards and a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Kamiak’s Thomas Batie in the third quarter squelched the chance for the winless Royals to pull ahead.

“Man, special teams killed us tonight. Penalties killed us tonight,” Lynnwood co-head coach Keauntea Bankhead said.

Lynnwood led 7-0 before Kamiak rallied for two second-quarter rushing touchdowns and took a 14-7 lead at the half.

Boosted by a 49-yard run by junior running back Andrew Katzenberger on the opening drive of the second half, the Royals got a 41-yard field goal from kicker Ousman Faye to cut the lead to 14-10.

But on the ensuing kickoff, Batie took the ball at the Lynnwood 2-yard line and broke free to the right of his blocking wedge, before cutting back to the left and getting into the end zone unscathed, making the score 20-10.

In the fourth quarter, a long punt return set Kamiak up deep in Lynnwood territory and a 31-yard drive was capped off by running back Tyler Webley’s second touchdown run of the game.

Webley, who scored two touchdowns, was named the Jersey Mike’s of Lynnwood Player of the Game, awarded via the Sound Live Sports Network, which livestreams all home football games of Edmonds School District high schools

Bankhead said the Royals, now 0-4 now, played well defensively in the second half, despite the special teams mishaps and penalties. The Royals gave up 216 yards rushing to Kamiak in the first half, but only 34 in the second half. Kamiak didn’t throw the ball a lot but the Royals didn’t allow any big pass plays and did a good job of tackling receivers in the open field, stopping one drive inside their own 20 in the second half by doing that.

Offensively, the Royals got off to a good start before struggling for much of the rest of the game.

Lynnwood took the lead in the first quarter on a 32-yard touchdown pass by Royals quarterback Justin Cachopo to receiver Richard Truong ,who was wide open inside the 10-yard line and slipped past the defense into the end zone.

While playing cornerback, Truong intercepted Kamiak quarterback Tyler Becker to spark the 10-play, 66-yard drive.

Cachopo completed 9-of-20 passes for 73 yards, the touchdown and two interceptions.

His last interception occurred after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty took Lynnwood from inside the Kamiak 10-yard line to the 24, killing a sustained drive, with about five minutes left in the game.

“We can get good drives but we’ve got to get to the 20-yard line and punch it in,” Bankhead said.

Lynnwood’s junior running back Andrew Katzenberger carried the ball 23 times for 96 yards, handling nearly all ground game workload.

The Royals play at Mariner next week, Friday, Oct. 4 time to be determined.

“Our players are actually getting to the point where they can compete in this league,” Bankhead said.

Kamiak running back Kyle McMillan, who rushed 12 times for 124 yards and a touchdown in the first half, suffered a leg injury in the third quarter and did not return. The Knights improved to 3-1 on the season.

Kamiak                  0         14         6         6         —         26

Lynnwood                  7         0         3         0         —         10

1st quarter

Lynnwood — Richard Truong 32 pass from Justin Cachopo (Ousman Faye kick) 3:35

2nd quarter

Kamiak — Kyle McMillan 24 run (Jack Dineen kick) 8:30

Kamiak — Tyler Webley 2 run (Dineen kick) 5:35

3rd quarter

Lynnwood — Field goal Ousman Faye 41  9:52

Kamiak — Thomas Batie 98 kick return (kick failed) 9:35

4th quarter

Kamiak — Webley 5 run (kick failed) 10:26

— By Tony Dondreo