Growing.

That is the word Head Coach Craig Everhart used to describe the 2019 football season following the team’s final game of the season with rival school Plant. The Knights lost 44-6 on Plant’s home field, bringing their final record to 3-7.

“They’ve come so far in so many areas,” Everhart said. “I hate for them that the result isn’t what they wanted tonight.”

Despite being held scoreless in the first half, the Robinson defense kept it a two possession game going into the second half, allowing 16 points. The Knights missed on big plays with receivers dropping passes and quarterback Rickeem Parks (’22) missed on a few open receivers, leaving yards and points on the table.

“[Parks] has the chance to be one of the best quarterbacks to ever play at Robinson.” Everhart said.

With this being the last game of high school played by the seniors on the Robinson team, emotions were high. Team captain Louis Kirchgessner (’20) was ejected from the game due to a personal foul in the third quarter, ending his last game as a Knight a bit short.

“I balled out,” Kirchgessner said. “Even though I didn’t finish the whole game, I played my heart out my last game and I gave it all to my team every day I came to practice for all four years”.

This loss extends Robinson’s losing streak to 15 consecutive years, with the last time Robinson beat Plant being in 2004.

Early in the season, kicker Steven Verdisco (’20) went down with an injury, but the team had a backup kicker in Carson Bay (’21) that came in for the remainder of the season kicked eight extra points and two field goals, showing the depth on the young roster.

“He really stepped up, he had a great season,” Verdisco said. “He showed that he is one the best kickers in the county, if not the state, if not the nation. He’ll definitely be somebody who is really good in the future.”

The Knights will lose 18 seniors to graduation, but the team has many young players that have already made an impact this season that the coaching staff believes will continue to develop and make waves next year.

“If they don’t see the potential that we have with our sophomores and our juniors, and we had some freshmen in there tonight, then they’re crazy.” Everhart said.

Staffer Ethan Adair was at the game. Check out the video recap below.