Robinson, DLS roll past Cal
SAN RAMON — Kairee Robinson rushed for 242 yards and matched a season high with three touchdowns as De La Salle downed host California 31-9.
The victory Friday night follows a dominant win over Foothill a week earlier after the Spartans stumbled through a string of four consecutive one-score games.
“It just shows that we’re practicing better,” coach Justin Alumbaugh said. “Our guys are getting more physical, more disciplined, so that’s encouraging because that’s what we’ve been spending a lot of time as coaches on.”
Alumbaugh credited the physical play of his offensive line Friday. “I thought our runners ran better too, so it was good to see,” he said. “To see our guys respond and claw away and pull themselves up to make themselves better is encouraging.”
Robinson’s return came after sitting out last week with muscle spasms in his back. Against California, the 5-8 junior hardly missed a beat.
“I did it through my line,” Robinson said. “My line set it up, the holes were good, been getting a lot of blocks, so if it wasn’t for the line, I would not have done what I did.”
Alumbaugh added that “he looked like himself in that second half.”
Both teams were slow to get going offensively. But the struggles subsided and the run games came alive for both teams. De La Salle scored first as Robinson capped off the drive with a scamper from a yard out.
But with halftime looming and another score in sight, De La Salle coughed up the ball deep in scoring territory. Cal answered with an 80-yard drive in the final three minutes that ended with a field goal that pulled the Grizzlies within 7-3 at the break.