Prior to Friday night’s game against Jefferson, the Knights sat in eighth place for playoff standings, but a win against the Dragons would put them five points closer to second place, which is necessary to make the playoffs. The Knights came back from a 14-point deficit, but were unable to pull through and lost 20-14.

Neither team was able to get on the board until the end of the first quarter, when the Dragons scored on a 50-yard run. With the clock winding down in the first, Jefferson added another touchdown to the board with a 15-yard pass and left the first quarter ahead 14-0.

Robinson was feeling the pressure and needed defense to step up and turn the game around for them.

“What was going through my mind was that we needed a stop on defense,” Knight’s nose guard Charles Meech (’18) said. “When the defense went back out there, I forced a fumble on a sack which turned the game around for the rest of the first half… that play along with the next drive in which we gave the ball to our offense again… helped us tie the game.”

Robinson started to turn the game around early in the second quarter, when the Dragons fumbled the ball and Robinson’s Jaquan Jackson (’18) recovered it. The Knights quickly scored after that when Kalieel Brown (’19) broke through the defensive wall. Jackson recovered two fumbles throughout the night.

By the end of the first half, the Knights were able to fight their way up to a tie, 14-14.

“(This loss) was not only the senior’s last time playing home, but also took away our last chance at making the playoffs,” Jackson said. “So for next week’s game, we’re preparing for every other team before by practicing any new or old formations given to us from the coaches after watching film.”

Because this loss eliminated Robinson’s chances at making the playoffs, Friday’s game was the last to be played on Jack Peters Field for the seniors.

“This field is where I started playing football at when I was five, so I’ve been here 12 years playing football (starting with the Titans),” Vincent Fuggetta (’18) said. “I got my first touchdown here, first tackle, first interception.”

The Knights take on Bloomingdale next Friday, Nov. 3, at Bloomingdale High School (1700 Bloomingdale Ave, Valrico, FL 33596).