Half game enough for Robinson home win against Foutain Lake
LITTLE ROCK — Joe T. Robinson handled the weather and manhandled Fountain Lake in a soggy 4A-7 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 (3-1, 1-0) defeated the Cobras (3-0, 0-1), 28-6.
Robinson 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 head c10oach 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 (run-pass) 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 team-high 44 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 14-yard 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 nine-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 TD with 2:52 remaining in the half.
A botched onside kick 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.”
Lacy was 3-for-5 passing for 47 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Johnson caught four passes for 35 yards.
Andrew Roberson was 2-for-3 passing for 16 yards. He was limited to 23 yards on seven carries.
Simpson led the Fountain Lake defense with seven total tackles and three solo tackles. Dylan Nguyen added five stops, including two solo tackles.
Fountain Lake is scheduled to return to Allen Tillery Field Friday to host Nashville (4-0, 1-0), ranked No. 3 in Class 4A in the most recent Arkansas Sports Media High School Football Poll. The Scrappers defeated defending 4A state champion Arkadelphia (0-4, 0-1), 28-23, Friday in Nashville.
Robinson is ranked No. 2 in 4A. The Senators are scheduled to travel to Arkadelphia on Friday.