In what was the first full game for the Knights since November 11, 2018, they found themselves suffering their first loss of the season to Hillsborough 45-6.

The first quarter saw both teams score, with the Terriers scoring a rushing touchdown and Robinson kicker Steven Verdisco (’20) kicking a Robinson record 50-yard field goal.

The second quarter saw Hillsborough start to pull away from the Knights, with Hillsborough scoring two touchdowns and a field goal, while Robinson only managed another Verdisco field goal. The score was 24-6 going into halftime, putting second year Robinson head coach Craig Everhart in a spot where he would need to coach his way back from a double-digit deficit, a task he had only done once before in the team’s game against Jefferson in the season prior.

Then the second half began.

In the opening kickoff of the second half, Hillsborough’s special teams unit managed to return the kick for a touchdown, putting the Knights down 25 points mere seconds into the third quarter. From then on Robinson failed to get anything going on offense, failing to score another point for the remainder of the game. Hillsborough tacked on two more touchdowns, resulting in a 45-6 score as the final seconds bled off the clock.

“I think the main thing is, you know, that when you get down early like that, it’s hard for a young team to respond,” Head coach Craig Everhart said. “That’s where we have to grow up.”

The week before they were slated to face Hillsborough, the Knights’ preseason game against Steinbrenner was cancelled due to weather and field conditions. This resulted in the Robinson coaching staff taking this game to test their three quarterbacks and let them jockey for the starting position moving forward. Another symptom of a lack of a preseason game is that this game was the a lot of these players’ first time starting, as several of last year’s starters were seniors.

Despite acknowledging that their lack of a warm-up game may have affected their play, some Robinson players are not making excuses for their performance in the game.

“That [not having a preseason game] shouldn’t be an excuse.” Running back and linebacker Carl Augustin (’21) said. “We should be prepared for things like that to happen. That’s life.”

Coming out of this loss, the Knights will look to have some of their roster questions answered and a better mentality going into their home opener next week.

“We gotta get better as a team.” Defensive back and quarterback Quentin Burney (’20) said “We came in thinking they were a bad team or whatever and played slow…you see the scoreboard it’s 45-6.”

The Knights play Alonso on Friday, August 30 at Jack Peters Field 6311 S Lois Ave, Tampa, FL 33616.

Scroll below to see a photo gallery from the game, photos by Morgan Brazier, Editor-in-Chief

Gallery • 11 Photos

Dennis Collado ('20)