LITTLE ROCK -- The Joe T. Robinson Senators' dominance was clear from the start.
Touchdowns on each of its first five possessions and a first-team defense that neither bent nor broke were enough in Robinson's 35-14 mercy-rule victory over the Rogers High Mounties at Charlie George Stadium on Friday night.
Class 4A Robinson coach Todd Eskola said he was pleased by his team's response to its 48-28 loss at Springdale High on Aug. 23.
"After our mistakes and miscues last week, the kids came back," he said. "They didn't get their heads down. That's a sign of a team that can play well at the end of the season, any time you see a team handle adversity like that. The kids bounced back and worked hard all week."
By the midway point of the first quarter, Robinson had taken a 14-0 lead on touchdown runs by senior running back Seth Watson and senior running back and safety Tyler Jones.
Class 7A Rogers was held to three plays and a punt on its first three possessions. After its third, Robinson (1-1) responded with a five-play drive completed with a 31-yard fourth-down touchdown pass from sophomore reserve quarterback Buddy Gaston to senior receiver Mekel Kentle.
"They have a very good team," Rogers coach Mike Loyd said. "We knew that, but you can't give up touchdowns on 4th-and-16 and expect to have a chance. They didn't need our help."
Kentle's score gave Robinson a 21-0 lead with 2 minutes, 42 seconds left in the first quarter.
Robinson's fourth score came on a 17-yard touchdown pass from senior starting quarterback Greyson Tackett to Kentle early in the second quarter.
Following Rogers' first first down of the game, Jones returned an interception from Rogers junior quarterback Hunter Loyd 50 yards to the Robinson 1. Tackett's 1-yard touchdown pass to junior Collin Coats gave Robinson a 35-0 lead that stood through halftime to engage the mercy rule.
The Arkansas Activity Association's football mercy rule calls for a running clock in the event a team leads by 35 or more points at halftime or thereafter. From that time forward, the clock stops only for changes of possession or timeouts called by teams or officials.
The offense for Rogers (0-1) faced Robinson reserves through all but the first four plays of the second half and managed two scored fourth-quarter touchdowns.
Loyd threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Will Sims with 9:47 left in the game and later scored on a 1-yard sneak at 3:05.
"We'll get better," Mike Loyd said. "We have a long way to go, but we'll get better."
Sports on 09/01/2018