There was one play they will talk about for a while.
As expected, the Joe T. Robinson Senators dominated throughout their 42-0 victory over the winless Malvern Leopards at Charlie George Stadium in Little Rock on Friday night.
Robinson (7-1, 4-0 7-4A) scored touchdowns on three of its first four plays from scrimmage. Seven plays after its third touchdown -- a 35-yard pass from senior quarterback Greyson Tackett to senior receiver Mekel Kentle -- Kentle returned a punt 78 yards to give Robinson a 27-0 lead with 2:17 left in the first quarter.
Though those big plays for Kentle came three minutes apart, they could not squelch the buzz of Robinson's first score, the one they're still talking about.
Robinson kicked off to start the game, held Malvern (0-7, 0-4) to three plays and a punt, and began its first possession at its 42. It was apparent something was up when senior tackle Elliot Harris Jr. suddenly had the ball in his hands as if he were a 6-4, 305-pound quarterback in a Shotgun set.
The play was called Big Belly for good reason, and Harris Jr. made it work. He floated his pass over the shoulder of senior receiver Traveon James, wide open in the end zone. James scored to give Robinson a touchdown on its first play from scrimmage that Harris Jr. said he will tell his grandchildren about.
"I wasn't nervous," Harris Jr. said. "We worked on it a lot in practice. He was open, and I just threw it to him. That's guaranteed to go onto my highlights."
To put the ball in the hands of a senior lineman on plays designed to score has become an annual tradition at Robinson under Coach Todd Eskola. He said he wasn't sure the play would work from as close in as 42 yards since he said Harris Jr. had demonstrated a propensity to throw passes 70 or more yards in practice. That Harris Jr. was able to put such touch on his pass to James confirmed Eskola's estimation of his tackle's talent.
"He has an unbelievable arm," Eskola said. "He's just a talented athlete. For a big guy, he's got an unbelievable arm. We were looking forward to that play."
Though Malvern struggled for every yard and was unable to slow Robinson's first-team offense, its remaining players appeared eager. Sophomore quarterback Braxton Allen impressed at times. He completed 10 of 18 passes for 82 yards.
"Our guys are not quitting," Malvern Coach Mike Scarbrough said. "They're playing hard. We're young and inexperienced at a lot of positions. The attitude's been good. We just need something good to happen, but you know, we're playing a really good football team here. They're not slouches, and they were very gracious tonight."
"He's a got a really young bunch," Eskola said. "They've gone through tough times this year, something no program and no coach wants to go through, but to their kid's and their coaches' credit, they play hard, and that's going to pay off for them down the road."
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Sports on 10/13/2018