RIVERSIDE — The King football team needed an entire game to reach the 35-point threshold in its season opener.
The Wolves reached that same plateau in just one half Friday night.
King secured its second win of the year, routing Kaiser 49-0 in its home opener.
Wolves’ senior quarterback Derek Conn – the evening’s starter with both Noah Cuenca and Logan Elrod unavailable – led his team with 115 yards and two touchdowns through the air on an efficient 5-for-6 passing.
“He’s (Conn) just a natural athlete,” King coach Jason McMains. “He had a great week of practice, preparation, with some of the things that we want to do with him at quarterback, now that he’s a dual threat and everything. So, he’s kind of opened things up.”
Conn – typically a wide receiver for the Wolves – started his team’s scoring with a 9-yard touchdown pass to complete a five-play, 47-yard drive. King carried its seven-point lead into the second quarter and wouldn’t have to wait long to double the advantage.
Brian Robinson tallied his first of two touchdowns just over a minute into the second quarter on a 12-yard rush. The senior running back ended the contest with a game-high 77 yards on five carries, capped off by a 38-yard touchdown run on the first play of the third quarter.
“He’s somebody you can definitely rely on,” Conn said. “You need a big gain, you can just hand it off to B-Rob.”
The Wolves only continued to roll.
An interception by senior Ryker Galvan set the stage for a touchdown from senior running back Noah Villarreal. A few plays later, senior Aaron Porter collected Kaiser quarterback Bayron Tripp’s second interception, taking it 95 yards for King’s fourth score of the game.
“In my four years here, the defense has been our backbone,” McMains said. “You can just see how the physicality of our defense kind of helps us and carries over into our offensive identity.”
King finished off its first-half barrage with a 59-yard touchdown from Conn to Galvan, then surpassed its Week 0 scoring total with Robinson’s rush on the Wolves’ first offensive play of the second half.
Kaiser’s early-season struggles continued Friday, with the Cats failing to score while allowing at least 49 points for the second consecutive game.
Five Kaiser rushers – including two different quarterbacks – combined for 77 yards on the ground, but botched snaps and big losses plagued the Cats.
“We’re at a point where we’re trying to find out who we are. That’s the challenge,” said Kaiser coach Reggie Cornish. “We’ve got a mix of young kids and a mix of seniors, but we try to get the young kids to come along, mature each day. So if we can get that before league starts, we’ll be alright.”
Junior running back Benjamin Major completed the rout for King with a 9-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter, coming off the bench to finish the game as King’s starters began early preparation for a Week 2 game agianst North.
