Connell Gets Ready For State Finals

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By Keith Leventhal

Story Published: Nov 29, 2007 at 6:53 PM PST

Last year, the Connell football team made it to the state championship game for the first time since 2002.

The Eagles didn't want to wait that long to go back to the title game.

So, just 364 days later, guess where they'll be on Saturday...playing for another state title.

Last year, the Eagles lost in the championship game by just a few yards as Meridian beat them 27-22.

This year, Connell has been playing even better...and now, the only thing between them and the title is their district rival, Royal.

The Eagles and Knights have combined to go 26-1 this year, and that 1 loss came when Connell beat Royal 23-20.

And the Eagles say this is the game they've been waiting for.

Connell head coach Wayne Riner says, "We wanted it, not just because of the rival deal, we probably wanted it more for, we really felt we were probably the 2 best teams in the state, we probably felt we would give each other the best 2 games and give the fans their money's worth and, you know, it looks good for our conference."

Connell senior quarterback Brett Clyde adds, "We play all these other teams and, you know, you blow them out and you get out by halftime and you just get to sit down the rest of the time, so when you get to play the full game and it comes down right to the end, it's a lot of fun...you remember those kind of games."

This may be the biggest game ever between Connell and Royal, with the 1A state championship on the line.

And, even though these schools are just 45 miles apart, they'll both head to the Tacoma Dome for this battle.

This game will get started Saturday afternoon at 1.