Robinson withstands flags to beat depleted Malvern
JOE T. ROBINSON 35, MALVERN 13
Senior quarterback Buddy Gaston threw three touchdown passes and rushed for another as Joe T. Robinson pulled away after enduring 14 first-half penalties to beat Malvern 35-13 at Charlie George Stadium.
Robinson (4-3, 2-1 4A-7) ended a two-game losing streak, and did so against a Malvern (4-3, 3-1) team that found out Thursday night it would have to leave 15 players — including four starters on the offensive line — at home in quarantine.
“We were shorthanded, and I thought we fought as hard as we could,” Malvern Coach J.D. Plumlee said. “We just flat ran out of bodies.”
Plumlee’s quick defensive front discombobulated Robinson’s explosive offense in the first half, forcing the Senators into 120 yards of penalties, many of them holding on the offensive line.
Robinson had a 77-yard touchdown run by Hunter Smith called back for holding in the first half, along with several other chunk plays.
Forcing Robinson into mistakes was part of Malvern’s plan, which included
resting its two-way players on offense and trying to turn the game into a slugfest.
“Our defensive line, we’re not the biggest but we’re quick,” Plumlee said. “We know we can cause some is
sues with our ball get off. I thought our kids played their guts out.”
Robinson Coach Todd Eskola said he appreciated Malvern’s effort on the field and its willingness to play the game despite a depleted roster.
All of it contributed to Robinson’s first-half struggles, which included getting stuffed at the Malvern 1 on the Senators’ opening drive.
Robinson’s only score in the first half came at the 2:43 mark of the first quarter on 22-yard pass play from Gaston to wide receiver James Jordan, who excelled on offense, defense and special teams.
Jordan returned two punts for 63 yards to get the Senators prime field position, and he also intercepted a pass on defense.
“They grind on you, they lean on you, and their playmakers are going to make plays,” Plumlee said. “Third quarter, we just kinda ran out of gas. They kept doing what they do, and they’re good at it. They’re hard to tackle. They got loose on us a little bit, and we just ran out of gas.”
Eskola said there were no major adjustments at halftime.
“Just control what you can control,” Eskola said. “We can’t control what penalties are called. We’ve got to overcome adversity and how to overcome adversity as a football player.”
Eskola said getting stopped on the opening drive was nothing new for the Senators and didn’t really set the tone for the game.
The penalties did.
“I think having so many setbacks in the first half sort of stunted us from ever getting in a groove,” Eskola said.
“They couldn’t ever really get the momentum going. In the second half without the penalties, we were able to get some momentum going and we stretched it out.”
Robinson scored twice in the third quarter to take control, scoring first on a 10-play, 38-yard drive after a 43-yard punt return by Jordan.
Smith completed the drive with a 1-yard run on a direct snap on fourth and goal with 4:45 to play in the third quarter.
Robinson scored again with 1:09 to play in the third quarter on an 11-yard swing pass from Gaston to Smith, and Robinson led 21-6.
Gaston scored with 9:08 to play in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard run to put the Senators up 28-6.
Each team would score again — Malvern on a 70yard Carter Martin interception return of a Gaston pass to make it 28-13 with 6:40 to play.
Robinson came back moments later and scored on Gaston’s third touchdown pass, a 53-yard play to Desmond Wilkins.
“They’re learning to play with adversity and trust one another,” Eskola said. “I thought that was a marked improvement for our kids. Our kids never wavered. They never once thought they were going to get beat.”