Half game enough for Robinson win
JOE T. ROBINSON 28, FOUNTAIN LAKE 6
Joe T. Robinson handled the weather and manhandled Fountain Lake in a soggy 7A-4 Conference opener that was called at the half on Friday night.
Senior Mekel Kentle scored on runs of 14 and 87 yards the first two times he touched the ball as the Senators defeated the Cobras 28-6.
Robinson (3-1, 1-0) rolled up 243 yards of total offense during hard steady rain at Charlie George Stadium while Fountain Lake (3-1, 0-1) was limited to 111 yards in a game that was delayed for 35 minutes in the first half and called at halftime after two lightning strikes.
Robinson Coach Todd Eskola said the weather forced his team to adjust its game plan.
“We like to throw it all over the place but we had to dial it back a lot,” Eskola said. “We want to be a 50-50 [runpass] team but tonight we had to rely on our run game.”
Kentle had only four carries but led all rushers with 142 yards. Senior Tyler Jones also topped the 100-yard mark, running 10 times for 108 yards and scoring on a 1-yard run late in the second quarter.
Both teams kept it simple. Fountain Lake continually used a quarterback keeper with senior Colson Simpson running 11 times for a teamhigh 35 yards.
Robinson’s first touchdown was set up by an interception by senior Jadien Lee 80 seconds into the game. Four plays later – and two plays after the first 30-minute weather delay – Kentle broke through the middle for a 14yard touchdown run with 9:23 left in the first quarter.
Kentle’s 87-yard scoring run came with 40 seconds left in the first quarter.
Robinson made it 21-0 when Greyson Tackett tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to senior Traveon James with 6:43 remaining in the first half. The nine-play, 71-yard touchdown drive was set up by a 46-yard run by Jones.
Fountain Lake closed to within 21-6 when Ian Lacy connected with Ahman Johnson for a 16-yard touchdown with 2:52 remaining in the half.
A botched onside-kick attempt allowed Robinson to start the ensuing drive at the Fountain Lake 46. Kentle ran for 40 yards to the 5 on the second play of the drive and Jones scored from the 1 on third-and-goal.
“We would have liked to have played a full game but when you play in adverse conditions you’re just happy to get out of there feeling healthy,” Eskola said. “It was a clean game for us. We didn’t lose any fumbles and I was happy with the way we competed in our first rain game.”