PULASKI COUNTY PREVIEW JOE T. ROBINSON

Talent-rich Senators not trying to be ‘good’, want to be ‘great’

Robinson junior Nathan Page was the Senators’ leading receiver last season, catching 44 passes for 731 yards and 8 touchdowns. Coach Todd Eskola said his group of receivers, which includes former Little Rock Parkview quarterback Koilan Jackson, is ready for great things. “The talent is there,” Eskola said.
Robinson junior Nathan Page was the Senators’ leading receiver last season, catching 44 passes for 731 yards and 8 touchdowns. Coach Todd Eskola said his group of receivers, which includes former Little Rock Parkview quarterback Koilan Jackson, is ready for great things. “The talent is there,” Eskola said.

Fifteenth in a series profiling Pulaski County high school football teams.

Joe T. Robinson was one of the state's most talented teams in 2015, but the Senators managed only one playoff victory.

photo

Special to the Democrat-Gazette

Pulaski Robinson head football coach Todd Eskola.

Robinson, led by current Arkansas freshman T.J. Hammonds, won its first playoff game since 2010, defeating Gravette. But the Senators' season ended a week later at Pea Ridge when they couldn't convert a two-point conversion with eight seconds left, losing 28-27 to the Blackhawks.

Senators at a glance

COACH Todd Eskola

CONFERENCE 7-4A

2015 RECORD 9-3, 5-2 4-4A (lost in Class 4A second round)

KEY RETURNERS RB Myles Fells (Sr., 5-11, 185); WR/S Nathan Page (Jr., 6-0, 180); TE/LB Hunter Swoboda (Jr., 6-4, 218); OL Sanderson Hines (Sr., 6-3, 289); DL David Porter (Sr., 6-3, 245)

SCHEDULE

DATE;OPPONENT

Aug. 29;Hot Springs Lakeside#

Sept. 9;Central Arkansas Christian

Sept. 16;at Baptist Prep

Sept. 23;Fountain Lake*

Sept. 30;at Arkadelphia*

Oct. 7;at Nashville*

Oct. 14;Malvern*

Oct. 21;at Bauxite*

Oct. 28;Ashdown*

Nov. 4;Mena*

*7-4A game #At War Memorial Stadium, Little Rock

It's a memory that has stuck with Coach Todd Eskola and the Senators since that third Friday in November.

"We preach to our kids all the time, 'Don't try to be good. Shoot to be great,' " Eskola said. "Anybody can be good. So that's kind of our motto. We don't want to be good. There are times we could have been better. That's what we're pushing.

"We have to set the bar higher. When you think you're doing good enough, you have to do more or you're going to lose in the second round. Good teams get beat early in the playoffs. We don't want to do that anymore."

The Senators' push to get past the second round this season begins with senior running back Myles Fells.

Fells, who played at Pulaski Academy his sophomore season in 2014, injured his knee last summer and missed the first two games of the 2015 season. The 5-11, 185-pound Fells returned in week three and finished the season with 348 yards and 8 touchdowns on 42 carries.

Having a healthy Fells is critical to the Senators' 2016 fortunes, Eskola said.

"He's just a leader. He does everything right," Eskola said. "He's the first one in line when he needs to get vocal. Having him full speed is important. He's a pretty special player."

Senior Hunter Eskola, the coach's son, will start at quarterback. The 6-2, 180-pounder backed up Brennen Johnson last season. He passed for 156 yards and 2 touchdowns in 11 games.

The Senators' strength may be at wide receiver.

Junior Nathan Page, 6-0, 180, was one of the state's top sophomores a year ago. He was Robinson's leading receiver, catching 44 passes for 731 yards and 8 touchdowns.

Former Little Rock Parkview quarterback Koilan Jackson, a son of former NFL tight end Keith Jackson, transferred to Robinson during the offseason. Jackson, who orally committed to Arkansas earlier this year, will play wide receiver for the Senators.

With Page and Jackson as well as junior tight end Hunter Swoboda (134 yards, 2 touchdowns), Eskola likes his group of receivers.

"I don't think anyone can match that," Eskola said. "The talent is there."

Senior defensive lineman David Porter and Swoboda lead the Senators' defense.

Swoboda, 6-4, 218, had a team-high 119 tackles, including 29 unassisted, and 2 sacks at linebacker. Porter, 6-3, 245, finished with eight sacks and recorded 53 tackles.

Robinson is back in the 7-4A Conference after spending two seasons in the 4-4A, where it finished behind two-time league champion Dardanelle both years. With defending Class 4A state champion Nashville, Arkadelphia, Ashdown, Fountain Lake and Malvern in the 7-4A, Eskola knows his team will have to be ready to play every week in arguably the toughest conference in the state.

"Every week, you're going to have to bring your A-game or you're going to get beat," said Eskola, whose team opens the season Monday against Hot Springs Lakeside at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. "We scheduled a really tough nonconference schedule. Anybody in the 7 [-4A] can beat you."

The Senators started 7-0 in 2015 but lost two consecutive to Dardanelle and Pottsville. They had to settle for the No. 2 seed in the 4-4A. Eskola has made his team aware of its late-season play throughout the offseason and hopes for a different outcome this year.

"You can't let off the brakes," Eskola said. "You've got to keep going. You look at state champions. They're not good. They're great.

"The good teams are the ones who make it to the first round and the second round. The difference is the teams who do the extra every play. That's what we're striving to do this year."

Sports on 08/28/2016

Upcoming Events