Robinson shakes off first-half miscues to move past Beebe

By Jeff Halpern | Photos by Tommy Land 

LITTLE ROCK — A 27-0 third quarter allowed the Joe T. Robinson Senators to put behind a sloppy first half and beat Beebe 37-16 on Friday night at Charlie George Stadium.

The Senators (6-1, 5-0 5A-Central) were tied 10-10 in a first half in which they were penalized 7 times for 80 yards. For the game, they were flagged 10 times for 125 yards, lost an onside kick, intercepted a pass and fumbled it right back to the visiting Badgers (4-4, 2-4) on the same play.

“The penalties killed us in the first half,” said Robinson head coach Todd Eskola. “Every time we got a drive going, we had a 10- or 15-yard penalty. The second guy usually gets caught and that’s what we preach to our kids about just play football and don’t worry about the rest.” 

Four of the penalties in the first half were either unsportsmanlike conduct or personal fouls.

The Senators responded by scoring on 3-of-4 possessions and taking advantage of 3 Beebe turnovers.

The Senators broke the tie on its first drive of the second half when Brandon Greil lined up in the shotgun and handled the ball on all four plays on a 50-yard drive including an 8-yard touchdown to make it 17-10 after John Tait’s extra point at the 10:36 mark.

After Beebe turned the ball over on downs at the Robinson 26, the Senators needed seven plays to get into the end zone with Ashtyn Williams scoring from a yard out at the 3:15 mark. Tait’s kick was good making it 24-10. The big play on the drive was a 39-yard pass from Greil to Kaiden Blalock on third and five which gave the Senators the ball at the Beebe 10.

With running back Noah Freeman out for the rest of the regular season with a leg injury, Eskola wanted to test the depth of his running back and it worked.

The Senators had 198 yards rushing on 36 attempts with 20 first downs. Malik Okuneye rushed for 72 yards on 14 carries, including one drive in the first half in which he handled the ball on 9 of 12 plays. Greil had 74 yards on 8 carries with 2 touchdowns Quarterback Quentin Murphy completed 10-of-15 passes for 91 yards and rushed for 40 yards on 7 carries with a 1 touchdown.

“We lost Noah last week and he’s the best running back in the state,” said Eskola. “It was about establishing rhythm with a few guys and that way they have that experience. We needed to have a few guys have their hands on the football.”

After Beebe’s Kiandrea Barker fumbled the ball and Robinson’s Jamarcus Brown recovered at the Badgers’ 25 with 3:00 left in the third quarter, the Senators came up empty when Williams was stopped on fourth and two from the Badgers’ 17.

One play later, Beebe’s Skylar Richardson fumbled and Chase Nichols recovered at the Beebe 24. On the next play, Murphy found Gabriel Bonner in the back of the end zone for a touchdown at the 1:30 mark. Tait’s kick was no good leaving the score at 30-10.

Three plays later, Zachary Grant’s pass was intercepted by Evan Olaimey who returned the ball 30 yards to the Beebe 22 with 54 seconds left in the third quarter. Two plays later, Murphy, on a bootleg, scored from 4 yards out with 15 seconds left in the quarter. Tait’s kick made it 37-10.

Beebe set the final margin when backup quarterback Jayden Smith, playing the fourth quarter after Grant re-injured his shoulder, scored from a yard out with 6:26 left. Isiah Reece blocked the extra point leaving it at 37-16.

The Badgers took advantage of a break to take a 7-0 lead at the 9:34 mark of the first quarter. Grant’s pass was intercepted by Nichols, who fumbled and Beebe’s Brenton Brasfield recovered at the Robinson 13. Three plays later, Grant threw to Jayden Smith for an 11-yard touchdown to make it 7-0 after Andy Rodriguez made the extra point.

The Badgers then recovered an onside kick before punting and then Greil finished off a 12-play, 80-yard drive in which Okuneye carried the ball nine times with a 3-yard touchdown at the 2:36 mark. Tait’s kick was good and it was 7-7.

“They jumped on us early. We intercepted a pass and fumbled it and it was a 50-yard gain,” said Eskola. “They attempt an onside and recovered it and we practice that every day.”

Rodriguez and Tait had field goals of 28 and 36 yards in the second quarter to make it 10-10.

“I liked the way our kids competed in the first half,” said Beebe head coach Chris Gunter. “I wish we played a lot better in the second half because we shot ourselves in the foot.”

With a game against Mills next week for first place in the conference, Eskola said the main thing he is focused on is playing up to the standard he expects from his players.

“We always worry about us,” said Eskola. “If we play well, we have a good chance to win next week. If we don’t, we’ll be in a dogfight. That’s our belief. We have to clean some things up and play a clean game.

"Honestly for us, it’s just the next game. I’m sure you guys will build it up. If we play well we’re a tough out for anybody.”

With the playoffs now a long shot, Gunter said his team needs to control what it can control for the next two weeks and take care of its own business.