ROCKFORD - Hononegah sophomore Chase Robinson didn’t learn he was going to start Friday night until he saw senior quarterback Dustin Meier at practice Thursday.
“I didn’t know Dustin was hurt until he walked out without pads on,” Robinson said of Meier, who injured the middle finger on his passing hand in the first quarter of last week’s loss to unbeaten Harlem. Meier said he’d be out for three or four weeks.
“I was nervous. I wanted to run this offense, and I wanted to run it good. I didn’t want to bust up this game for the seniors. I wanted to run it like Dustin would. Dustin is great, and I wanted to match up to him.”
Robinson did just that, running for one touchdown and throwing for another as Hononegah made amends for last year’s playoff loss to Guilford with a 21-7 victory.
“What they did to us last year, that’s all we were thinking about,” said halfback Brian Bean, who had a bittersweet game.
Bean ran for 67 yards on 10 carries the first half to help Hononegah (4-1) to a 14-7 lead. But he sat out the second half in street clothes with his arm in a sling after reinjuring his right shoulder. He missed all but one game with an injury to that shoulder last year.
“It’s frustrating, but it’s exciting to watch my team do well,” said Bean, who hopes to return soon. “The first time was a real bad separation. This one is just a dislocation.”
The Indians put away Guilford (2-3) with an 81-yard TD drive on 14 consecutive runs to open the second half.
“It’s fun to have a nice, slow drive like that,” Bean said. “It’s fun to make big plays, but it’s also a good feeling to wear their defense down.”
At the end of that drive, Hononegah led 21-7 and had run 55 offensive plays to Guilford’s 18.
“It felt like it was a real close ballgame; we just didn’t have the ball that much,” Guilford coach Mel Gilfillan said.
“We were looking for a big play. We knew we had to get some. We just couldn’t get something big happening. Once we got a few things going, they shut the door on us.”
Hononegah held the Vikings to 123 total yards. The Indians didn’t get any big plays either, but they didn’t need any. Their longest play was 15 yards, but 52 of their 54 runs gained yards. Brett McWilliams led the way with 104 yards on 20 carries.
Robinson scored on a 1-yard run to cap a game-opening 12-play, 64-yard drive. After Guilford tied it on Zane Gilfillan’s 1-yard run, Robinson threw a 6-yard TD pass to Dillion Logan to cap a 15-play, 70-yard drive on Hononegah’s second possession to put the Indians ahead 14-7.
Three possessions later, the Indians put the game away with their 81-yard drive that was much like the first two, only this time with zero passes.
“Five yards a pop for 80 yards; that’s automatic,” said Robinson, who completed 8 of 15 passes for 62 yards. “That’s how you’ve got to play offense. It was great. We got to pound it like that all day long.”
- Matt Trowbridge, rrstar.com
