Royal took a huge step forward last year.

The Falcons broke a five year playoff drought and had a tremendous year, finishing second in district and only losing two games through the entire season.

It was a strong and successful year for Royal as they continue to grow, but the end of the season, a loss in the bi-district round to Hamshire-Fannet, put a sour note on an otherwise tremendous season and has the entire cast of returners hungry for more.

“We started the program two years ago and it was all about building that culture and doing things the right way,” said Royal head coach Theadis Reagins. “Last year we really started to turn a corner and you could see kids understanding how to do things the right way. That’s what got us to the playoffs last year and these guys have just been building on it all through the spring and summer.”

The Falcons have ample opportunity to improve. They return all but five starters from last years team and have playmakers all around the field both offensively and defensively, adding to that the fact that most of this team has already gained the experience of getting to the playoffs and playing in that atmosphere will only help as they continue to build.

On the offensive side of the ball, there are some big pieces back that will try to build on successful years. Ashton Robinson will lead the offense as he enters his second season as starting quarterback. He comes off a year where he threw for 2,238 yards and 25 touchdowns to nine interceptions, completing 56% of his passes and averaging over 200 yards passing per game. Zakai Anderson will return as the starting running back after rushing for 1556 yards per game and 14 touchdowns last year and the team also has options in the pass game.

“It’s exciting because along with Zakai and Ashton we’re returning all five offensive lineman,” Reagins said. “Those guys are a big piece of what we want to do this year. Ashton threw for over 2000 yards for us, Zakai rushed for over 1500 yards so we think both of those guys are in for big years too. There’s some spots at receiver that we have to replace but I think as a group we can be really productive there too.”

Defensively, Royal’s biggest returner is Zechariah Robinson who comes off a year where he had 44 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and eight sacks. Jeremiah Randolph Dyler Williams and Avery Robinson are all returning as well in what should be a very strong unit from up front to the secondary.

“Our defense I really think will be one of our strong points,” Reagins said. “We have a lot of returners. On the line we have four guys who have a lot of varsity experience and we have guys at linebacker and in the secondary who can make plays and they all know what Coach (L.) Cryer wants as a defensive coordinator. They’ve really fined tuned everything and I think they all will be able to execute on a very high level this year.”

The Falcons will open the season against Worthing before rounding out their non-district schedule against Furr, Iowa Colony and Fort Bend Willowridge. Royal will then open district against two very strong opponents in Sealy and Bellville.
“The ideal situation is to get those tough matchups and I’m glad we did,” Reagins said. “Our goal is to win a district championship and in order to do that you really need to know where you stand after pre district. That’s where you can make adjustments from so it’s important that those games to get everyone ready for when we are playing in really tough games against Sealy, Sweeny, Bellville, Wharton and everyone else.”