CONCORD — Jay M. Robinson, a school with a football tradition two weeks old, whipped Salisbury, a team with a glorious gridiron tradition dating back to the roaring ’20s, on Friday night.
The brand new school puts its brand on the struggling Hornets 14-0, claiming the first victory in its short history in a painfully physical defensive slugfest that saw only 11 first downs recorded in the entire game.
Unfortunately, it was a Pyrrhic victory — a term dating back to the ancient Greeks to indicate a win more costly than a defeat — for the fledgling Bulldogs, who were playing for the first time in front of their enthusiastic home fans who call themselves the “Dog Pound.”
Robinson’s fine freshman quarterback, Brett Clay, went down under the Hornets’ pass rush while making a 29-yard, second-quarter touchdown strike to A.J. Hendry. Clay didn’t return to the field until he traveled via crutches to join his fellow Bulldogs in the end zone for a post-game prayer.
Hendry, who had three early catches for 77 yards, also was lost to the Bulldogs (1-2) for an extended period when he tore up a knee breaking up a Hornet pass from his safety position.
Robinson’s defensive enforcer and co-captain Josh Stevenson (6-foot-4, 270 pounds) also had to be helped from the field. Ironically, he was hurt on a play that meant nothing, as penalty flags indicating illegal motion against the Hornets had already flown before he disappeared in a sea of bodies.
“Those three are tremendous kids and we’re very concerned about them,” said Robinson coach Tony Paroli, the former A.L. Brown assistant. “We’re excited about our first win in front of our home crowd, but, yes, the injuries definitely put a damper on it.”
The evening was also a downer for Salisbury coach Mike Peavey, whose team fell to 0-3 and has been outscored 92-12.
While Robinson may limp through the rest of the season because of the damage the Hornets inflicted, Peavey’s Hornets continue to limp on offense.
Salisbury’s offense functioned with all the effectiveness of the 7th Cavalry at the Little Big Horn. The Hornets didn’t manage a second-half first down until less than a minute remained in the game and didn’t have a play all night bigger than 19 yards.
Peavey tried most everything — all sort of formations and all sorts of personnel. But neither starting QB Chris Geter nor sophomore Brian Roten, who took the snaps after Jeter took two wicked licks from Robinson’s Jordan Thomas who was blowing in unblocked from his outside linebacker post, had success.
“We had to throw Roten to the wolves,” said Peavey, after the youngster was victimized for a couple of interceptions. “Chris Geter is a great athlete, but maybe he can help us more at a position other than quarterback.”
Peavey said he saw his team’s disappointing performance coming.
“Labor Day messed this whole week up,” said Peavey. “We did not have a good week of preparation for this game and there’s no way you’re going to be good on Friday night if you’re not any good Monday through Thursday.”
Things started rolling against the Hornets midway through the first quarter.
On the very next play after corner Justin Sanders picked off a Geter pass, Roger Ladda scored a touchdown. Ladda turned the right corner on a simple pitch, outsprinted a couple of Hornets, and was off to the races down the sideline for an electrifying 55-yard score.
A sudden change meant bad news for the Hornets again in the second quarter.
This time, Geter was hit in the backfield, lost the handle, and the ball was recovered by Bulldog Matt Griffin. One play later, Clay drilled his TD pass to Hendry and it was 14-0.
Salisbury nearly scored at the end of the first half, reaching the Robinson 8 after a nice Roten-to-Kevin McCullough pass play and a tough run on a reverse by Andre Bruce. But the drive died when Jimmy Daniels picked off a Roten pass in the end zone on first-and-goal.
With Clay and Hendry (who was listed as the No. 2 quarterback as well as a starting receiver and safety) sidelined, Paroli had to go to his No. 3 signal-caller, Dusty Rhodes, in the second half. As a result, Robinson’s offense became a bit more conservative than Ronald Reagan, and the Hornets swarming defense took advantage to record a second-half shutout.
“It’s what we had to do,” said Robinson center Josh Jordan, who was a tower of power. “But we never had any doubt, we’d hold on and win. This team has heart and we could hear our crowd.”
The Hornets got hard-hitting defensive efforts from J.J. Gwyn, Nate Setzer and Bruce, among others.
“For the second straight week, our defense gave us a chance to win,” said Peavey. “Kids like Andre Bruce (who was beaten early in the game) could have tucked their tails, but they grew up and played like men. I was proud of ‘em.”
With good reason. But the Hornets have now lost five straight over two seasons and are 7-50 since the glory year of 1995. And it may get worse before it gets better.
Salisbury’s now 0-3 has lost five straight over two seasons and its 7-50 over last six seasons.
Contact Mike London at 704-797-4259 or mlondon@salisburypost.com
.
Today's News
