Senators start slow, score 28 in the 2nd quarter
5A-CENTRAL JOE T. ROBINSON 35, WATSON CHAPEL 7
It was somewhat of a sluggish start for the Joe T. Robinson Senators but once they got their offense going they struck quickly against the Watson Chapel Wildcats in a 35-7 victory on a homecoming Friday night at Charlie George Stadium in Little Rock.
The Senators (3-1, 2-0 5A-Central) did not get on the scoreboard until 2:21 remained in the first quarter but they easily tacked on 28 points in the second quarter for a 35-0 halftime lead to set up the sportsmanship clock for the second half.
“We are getting better,’’ Robinson Coach Todd Eskola said. “A young football team, we thought we’d get better every week. We had a lot of unforced errors tonight on our part and that is a sign of a young team but we are playing so many young kids we kind of expect that. But I think the kids are getting better every week, which is a positive.”
Junior Nick Abrams broke into the end zone from 15 yards out and John Tait kicked an extra point for a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.
In the second the points came quickly.
Senior Jaylen Knowlton scored on a 24-yard run with 11:04 left in the half, and after an encroachment call junior quarterback Quentin Murphy scored the two-point conversion on a sneak to make it 15-0.
The run capped a 29-yard drive that was set up by the Senators’ defense making a fourth-down stop.
Next it was junior Jordan Thomas’ turn. He scored on a 51-yard run at the 9:30 mark and a missed extra point made it 21-0 and he added a 16-yard score with 1:58 left in the half.
Thomas ran for 96 yards on five carries, all in the first half.
After Nick Abrams recovered a fumble Murphy hit Jakob Coleman with a 30-yard scoring pass with 1:32 left in the half.
“I felt like by the middle of the season we would start getting better and by the end of the season we might be pretty good,” Eskola said. “We are playing so many young kids you are not going to be very good at the beginning of the year.”
The Wildcats (0-5, 0-2) have struggled this season and had managed just 30 points in four games.
They ended a scoring drought with a 3-yard run from hard-running Jalen Hobbs. The extra point made it 35-7.
“We preach here never worry about who you are playing and that is something we have done for several years and this group has the same motto it is just about us every week,’’ Eskola said. “If we do our jobs we have a chance to be a pretty good team.”