Robinson will travel to Lakewood this Friday night for the BCP Game of the Week and monster district battle with the undefeated Lakewood Spartans for the class 5A-8 district title. The Knights respect the fact that Lakewood is talented, tough and undefeated. But, they do not fear the Spartans at all.
Robinson starters, John Taylor, DL and Dominic Jennings, DB give BCP the inside on how excited the Knights are for the upcoming game.
“Robinson has been ready and waiting for this game since we played Jesuit. They are our obstacle to overcome in order to be district champs and host games for the playoffs. We can’t wait until Friday night”, DL John Taylor says.
The team has plenty of motivation. The Port Tampa family has overcome plenty of obstacles in the recent years and they have tightened the bond between the team. “We as a team started bonding over the summer and started off as individuals with a goal to go to states [State Championship] but now we are a family trying to reach that goal and seniors are working harder everyday to send off ourselves along with Coach Depue with a state championship,” explains Taylor.
DB Dominique Jennings admits the Knights are super excited because they feel this game is the biggest game of the season so far. “They pass the ball well and their OL get after it”. Taylor’s observations on Lakewood, “I’ve noticed that they are faster and bigger and play more as a team since last we saw them last year. On film both o-line and d-line play smash mouth football. They have athletes that make plays. We have been preparing for that since last week”.
Knight Team LEADERS
Taylor: Would say that Martin Ruiz, Bruce Hector, Zain Gilmore and myself are the team leaders because when something goes wrong in the game or when we need a big play we all make it happen for the coaches and team. We push each other and our teammates to get better and do what we have to do to win.
Jennings: Martin Ruiz , Bruce hector, Me, Justin Madison, and Zain Gilmore. They are our team leaders because they set good examples and keep everybody in check.
Their is a lot on the line; Undefeated record, district title and home-field advantage. To the Robinson athletes it has even more meaning. John Taylor, “I thought we would have a few cameras out there with it being two undefeated teams playing each other for district champs and chance to host a few home games in the playoffs. When we stepped off the field against Spoto our coaches told us to worry about school from 7-2:45 and from then on football. So we all try not to worry about the publicity and worry about the game Friday”. Jennings, “It means a lot to us and it means we are getting a lot of recognition”. Something must give!