In what proved to be a redemption game, Robinson (2-2) narrowly defeated Spoto (2-2) 28-24 Friday night. The game came down to the final three seconds, and the Knights escaped with the victory after a timely interception.

“I’m proud… We’re going to cautiously take the momentum from the victory,” Head coach Craig Everhart said.

The Spartans scored first with a 45-yard touchdown pass, grabbing an early six-point lead in the first quarter. The remainder of the first quarter saw both offenses fail to put points on the board. Spoto led 6-0 heading into the second quarter.

The second quarter began with a touchdown drive ending with a 1-yard rushing touchdown by John-al Castleberry (’19) that put Robinson in the lead 7-6. Later in the quarter, Spoto had a costly fumble that was recovered by the Robinson defense and gave Robinson a surge of momentum. The Knights capitalized on this blunder and put a 60-yard touchdown pass from Kobe Copple (’19) to Quinton Lane (’19) on the board before the end of the half, increasing their lead to 15-6 after a successful two-point conversion.

The second half began with Robinson tacking on a rushing touchdown and extra point, extending the lead to 22-6. Spoto quickly responded with a touchdown of their own making the score 22-12. Robinson, however, marched right back down the field and scored another touchdown, pushing their lead up to 28-12.

Spoto wasted little time in the final quarter, scoring on the first play of the fourth to put the score at 28-18. Robinson’s offense began to run the ball more to run the clock down, failing to put any more points in the quarter. Spoto managed to score with four minutes left in the game, making it a one possession game with a score of 28-24. The Knights bled the clock out to about 30 seconds left in the game and gave the ball to Spoto backed up against their own end zone. The Spartans were unable to put anything together in their final drive of the game, giving the Knights their first district win of the season.

“We played really well as an offense. Everything was clicking,” starting quarterback Kobe Copple (’19) said.

Copple had two passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown throughout the night.

Robinson will host the Blake Yellow Jackets (1-2) next week for the Robinson homecoming game at Jack Peters Field (6311 S Lois Ave, 33616.)