Friday the 13th was Robinson’s lucky day. With a 45-36 score, Robinson brought home their first official win over Wharton High School to the delighted crowd decked out in beach wear.
Starting off strong in the first quarter, Robinson gained the lead in their very first drive with a run touchdown. However, Wharton responded to the Knights jab with a long run touchdown of their own. For the remainder of the first half, the two teams swung back and forth at each other with the quarter ending with a 21-21 tie.
Going into the third quarter, the Knights punted to Wharton before stopping them cold. After punting to the Knights, the Wildcats managed to keep the knights in their territory and forced another punt. After another Robinson punt, which resulted in the Knights defense making Wharton punt again, the Knights scored their first touchdown of the second half with a rushing touchdown by Jaylen Holman.
The celebration was cut short by a missed extra point, followed by a Wharton touchdown, but the Knights weren’t going to let the 27-28 score drag them down. After breaking free and placing the ball on Wharton’s 4 yard line, running back Jaylen Holman gave the Knights the lead again with another rushing touchdown to bring the scored to 39-28. The defense kept Wharton down with a sack and several decisive tackles to take us into the 4th quarter with a secure lead.
The fourth quarter could have ended very poorly for the Knights. Running back Jaylen Holman (’26) put the Knights on the 6th yard line their first possession, a fumble would put the ball in Wharton’s paws and allowed them to bring the score to 39-35 with a successful extra point. Losing that opportunity on the first possession seemed to put a fire under the Knights.
After Wharton’s kickoff, defensive back and wide receiver Xander Logan (’25) charged down the field for a 90-yard kickoff return to bring the score to 45-35. Kicker Jay Maurer (’26) made a successful extra point, bringing the score to 46-35.
“It felt amazing,” Logan said. “I almost took the opening kickoff back so taking that one back definitely felt good. I definitely think it helped secure the win because we had just turned the ball over and they drove down and scored, so being able to flip the momentum like that helped give us the energy we needed to finish the game.”
Wharton attempted to march down the field with 3 minutes to go, but defensive tackle Reymond Corley (’26) made the spirit-crushing sack that ended Wharton’s drive. After a drive to kill time, Robinson would punt to Wharton and pin them on their 12-yard line to end the game.
The past two official games dampened the expectations for this team, but the Knights performance brought a wave of hope for the . There were moments of weakness on each team, the defense seemed to struggle to control Wharton’s run game, and the offensive line tended to collapse and leave the quarterback with less time to make decisions and proper throws.
However, the team showed resilience and their strengths by making good decisions, taking advantages of opportunities, and keeping momentum going until the end. Things are looking up for this team, and they will hopefully maintain this momentum throughout the season.
