The Jaguars football team's playoff-opening opponent will be the Royalton Royals. They went 6-2 overall this season, including a 4-1 mark in the Prairie South Conference. Royalton finished in second place in the Prairie South, one game behind champion Browerville.
Royalton rushed for 391 yards against K-M-S during the Saints' Homecoming game in Murdock on Oct. 14. The Royals added 60 yards passing through the air. K-M-S gained 351 yards on the ground and passed for 88. Both teams combined for 40 first downs.
The Royals' Andy Poster, a senior, is their quarterback. He hit Tyler Seiben (senior) for a 25-yard reception on the Royals' first play of the game. Cade Stang (sophomore) ran for 15 yards on the second play of the game, and on the third play of the game, Royalton's Mitch Zimmerman (senior) ran in a 40-yard touchdown.
Zimmerman would run two more touchdowns on carries of 70 and 35 yards as the Royals built a 20-7 lead in the first quarter.
Zimmerman finished with 246 yards on 15 carries in the K-M-S win.
A week earlier on Oct. 7, the Royals hosted West Central Area for Homecoming. At halftime, the visiting Knights held a 6-2 lead. Royalton lost four fumbles in the first half that ended multiple looks deep inside WCA territory.
On Sept. 30, Royalton gave up touchdowns on two of Browerville's first three plays of the game and ultimately lost 40-7. The host Tigers held Zimmerman to 70 yards on 16 carries. Sophomore Tony Gadacz (sophomore) added 65 yards on 15 rushes for the Royals.
On Sept 23, Gadacz carried three touchdown runs in the Royals' 21-14 win over Ottertail Central. This is the lone game of the fall that I would rate as a "quality win" for Royalton.
Last week to end the regular season, Royalton built a 33-0 halftime lead over winless Wadena-Deer Creek, a score that stood going into the fourth quarter. The Royals ended up winning 40-14.