From the start of the 2015 season, Robinson knew that they would have multiple chances early on in the year to make their presence known to the rest of the newly-realigned 5A-district 10. A comeback effort in the Kickoff Classic against Pinellas Park set the tone right for the Knights, but they appeared to take a step back in the regular season opener last week at Blake. Though the Yellow Jackets were held to -26 yards, Robinson struggled offensively throughout the 19-6 victory. With last week behind them, the Knights have a chance to make a big statement this Friday against a tough Wharton team.

REWIND:

PLAYERS TO WATCH (Wharton):

DeVontres Dukes (’16)– After transferring to Wharton from North Carolina last year, Dukes became the Wildcats’ top threat in the passing game. Ranked a three-star recruit by 247Sports, the 6-foot-3 receiver committed to UCF over the summer. In last week’s 35-7 win over King, Dukes hauled in five passes for 140 yards, including a 61-yard touchdown in the second half.

Miles Williams (’16)– The 6-foot-1 running back ran all over King last week, rushing for 163 yards on 25 carries, which set the table for a 35-point outburst by the Wharton offense. Of his 25 rushes, he had just three that went for negative yardage. The Wildcats will likely use him even more this week against a Robinson defense that had some trouble stopping Pinellas Park’s rushing attack two weeks ago.

PLAYERS TO WATCH (Robinson):

Eli Morris (’17)– Morris had a solid game last week, picking up five tackles, two of which were sacks. On a defensive line that features Wisconsin-commit Keldric Preston (’16), Morris might be lost in the shuffle when it comes to the opposing offensive line’s focus, so it wouldn’t come as a surprise to see him put up another big game on Friday night.

JJ Henderson (’16)– Though he only caught two passes for 51 yards last week, Henderson showed the big-play ability that was seen from him throughout last season. After playing a bit of a smaller role with a crowded receiving corps in 2014, he is primed to have a breakout senior season, which gives quarterback Malik Tyson (’16) another strong receiver to rely on this year.

Kickoff for Friday night’s non-district game is set for 7:30 p.m. at Jack Peters Field on the campus of Robinson High School (6311 S Lois Ave, Tampa, FL 33616).