Royal Rallies to Tie Thousand Oaks on Prchal Kick

Royal High overcame the adversity of a six-year losing streak and the temporary loss of quarterback Ryan Fien to tie Thousand Oaks, 26-26, Friday on Steve Prchal’s 35-yard field goal with 13 seconds to play.

Royal (6-1-1 overall, 3-1-1 in Marmonte League play), had not defeated Thousand Oaks since 1983. But Friday at Thousand Oaks, the Highlanders erased a 26-13 halftime deficit despite the loss of Fien, who left the game late in the second quarter because of a knee injury and did not return until 11 minutes 30 seconds remained.

Royal, which watched Thousand Oaks amass 280 yards in the first half, limited the Lancers to 90 yards in the second half. Lancer tailback Cory Bowen, who came into the game averaging 125 yards an outing, had 91 yards in 12 carries.

Prchal, a senior who had just two field goals before Friday, hit a 37-yarder with 46 seconds left in the third quarter that pulled Royal to within 26-16.

After Fien re-entered the game, he directed the Highlanders to two scoring drives in the final 5 1/2 minutes. He hit tight end Carlos Gonzales, who had substituted at quarterback, and Gonzales fired downfield to Tony Liming for a 76-yard score. Prchal’s conversion cut Thousand Oaks’ lead to 26-23.

Thousand Oaks (6-1-1, 4-0-1) appeared to have clinched a victory when it converted a key first down with two minutes left. But Kenny O’Connor fumbled with 1:44 left and Matt Tomaszewski recovered at the Lancer 32.

On third and two from the 24, Michael Streeter (who had a season-high 90 yards in 15 carries) gained four yards for a first down with 42 seconds left. Two plays later, Prchal’s kick easily cleared the crossbar.

Thousand Oaks took over after the ensuing kickoff with only six seconds left and ran out of time during Bowen’s 14-yard run to the Lancers’ 38-yard line.

In the first half, Thousand Oaks had little difficulty with the Highlanders. A 20-yard run by O’Connor gave the Lancers a 6-0 lead.

Royal countered with consecutive touchdown passes--of 27 and three yards--from Fien to Jeff Creed for a 13-6 lead.

But Thousand Oaks retaliated with 21 unanswered points that gave the Lancers a 26-13 halftime lead. The Lancers needed only three plays to score two of those touchdowns.

Quarterback Scott Peterson, who completed nine of 18 passes for a season-high 175 yards, connected with Jeff Watts on a 68-yard scoring play with 1:49 left in the first quarter.

On the Lancers’ next possession, Eric Houston sprinted 55 yards on the Lancers’ first play from scrimmage to give Thousand Oaks an 18-13 lead.

Thousand Oaks proved it could use the clock too, putting together a 14-play, 71-yard drive that chewed 4 1/2 minutes off the clock. Bowen capped the drive with a one-yard run and added the two-point conversion with 1:59 left, extending Thousand Oaks’ lead to 13 points.