By Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Manager, Washington D.C. Metro Area
**Click the link at the top-left for video highlights!!**
At the end of his post-game address, 13th-year Ram coach Mark Bendorf made a closing declaration to his team.
“There was a boatload of people here,” he said. “And they saw champions play.”
At the midway point of the regular season, few could argue.
In a game that featured three lead changes and three ties, Robinson beat Lake Braddock, 28-21, at home Friday.
For the Rams, it was their 11th-consecutive win in the annual series, dating back to a Bruin playoff victory in November 1999.
“They should a lot of character because anybody that saw this game saw how the momentum went back-and-forth,” Bendorf said of his post-game statement. “For the players to deal with the momentum swings — and the emotional ups and downs — and never once did I sense on the sideline any sense of panic. They just kept playing.
“That’s what champions do. That’s what I meant by that.”
Robinson’s win came a week after handing Herndon (3-1) its only loss thus far, 35-14 on the road, rushing for 306 yards in that game.
Friday, the Rams (5-0) rushed for 201 yards, amazingly a season-low.
The ground assault was led by punishing senior running back Connor Riley, who carried 22 times for 82 yards and three scores.
His first touchdown run was a 10-yard, defender-dragging surge that put Robinson on the board five plays into the game.
His last, the game-winner, came with 1 minute, 8 seconds remaining and was punctuated by a lowered shoulder that floored a Lake Braddock defensive back and detonated the sea of home supporters.
“We’d been running leads down on the goal line all night,” Riley said of his three-yard game-winning carry. “They put all their players in the middle and they knew where I was going. I saw that and I just busted it outside for the TD.
“I like contact. That’s how I run.”
Added Bendorf: “He’s an old-school football player. You can just tell that by looking at him and seeing the passion he plays the game with.
“And to do what he did playing both ways makes it even more impressive, because playing defense against them is very taxing. They’re up-tempo, you’re covering a lot of space and then to turn around, on offense, and be able to produce there is a tribute to him and how important this game is to him.”
Whether Bendorf meant “this game” as in football, or “this game” meaning against Lake Braddock (3-2) could be debated among outsiders.
Despite its recent dominance in the series — and Lake Braddock (3-2) in a different district since 2005 — Robinson still considers its Braddock-Road neighbor among its most prominent rivals.
Ram and Bruin fans, apparently, agree.
Coffey Stadium seats an estimated 7,500 fans. Still, saturated stands gave way to packed hilltops and walkways surrounding the field Friday.
It took fans up to 30 minutes to get into the stadium and almost twice as long to leave.
“I’ve been coaching here a long time, since 1992, and I don’t know that I’ve ever seen that many people in this stadium,” Bendorf said. “We hosted a state semi with Hylton in ’04, we’ve played regional finals here multiple times — Centreville, Oakton.
“I’m not sure I remember seeing that many people.”
Added junior running back Jared Velasquez, who had a game-high 133 yards: “We’re just crosstown rivals. It’s tradition here.”
Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com
Box Score 1 2 3 4 — F
Lake Braddock 7 7 0 7 — 21
Robinson 7 7 0 14 — 28
Scoring Plays
1Q — RB — Riley 10 run (Vassal kick) — 9:47
1Q — LB — Nebrich 1 run (Weiler kick) — 5:46
2Q — LB — Resetar 45 from Nebrich (Weiler kick) — 8:35
2Q — RB — Riley 3 run (Vassal kick) — 2:59
4Q — RB — Creighton 9 from LoPresti (Vassal kick) — 11:13
4Q — LB — Resetar 30 from Nebrich (Weiler kick) — 8:21
4Q — RB — Riley 3 run (Vassal kick) — 1:08
Passing
LB – Nebrich – 26-for-40, 276 yards, 3 TD, INT. RB – LoPresti – 7-for-12, 92 yards, TD.
Rushing
LB – Nebrich – 23 car, 128 yards, TD; Mansaray – 13 car, 65 yards. RB – Velasquez – 16 car, 133 yards; Riley – 22 car, 82 yards, 3 TD; Musokotwane – 3 car, 8 yards;
Lapian – 1 car, 3 yards.
Receiving
LB –
Resetar – 5 rec, 92 yards, 2 TD; Banihashemi – 11 rec, 83 yards; Mansaray – 4 rec, 52 yards; Williams
– 2 rec, 26 yards; Johnson – 4 rec, 23 yards. RB – Zanellato – 4 rec, 59 yards; Velasquez – 2 rec, 24 yards; Creighton – 1
rec, 9 yards, TD.
Time of Possession
LB – 21:31. RB – 26:19.
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