Robinson runs past, over Bears

The genius of Lewis and Clark’s game plan against Central Valley was in its simplicity. Give Ethen Robinson the football. Watch Robinson run.

That he did in the Tigers’ 27-20 Greater Spokane League victory at CV Friday night in an entertaining, if defensively challenged, contest.

Running behind zone blocking in LC’s one-back scheme, Robinson gained 237 yards on 31 carries, including a 73-yard run that brought the team quickly back from a 20-13 deficit with 8 minutes, 11 seconds left in the game.

Robinson also caught two screen passes for 47 more yards and one of his three touchdowns.

Coupled with two brilliant catches by senior receiver Kevin Luby that produced the winning score, the Tigers (4-0) remained unbeaten.

“We’re a zone-blocking team and each time it’s different,” said coach Tom Yearout. “Ethen’s just getting a feel for what it looks like and really he’s taking repetitions during the game and learning as we go along.”

In contrast to LC’s single-minded scheme, CV’s was a picture of diversity, particularly in the first half as the Bears drove to a score on the game’s first series.

It took just more than 5 minutes for Tommy Kadoya to plunge into the end zone from a yard out after Camren Ebat completed passes to four different receivers and three different rushers carried the ball.

LC took nearly seven minutes of the second quarter to go 70 yards, cutting the deficit to 7-6. Much of it came on short runs by Robinson, whose 17-yard reception set up four successive carries beginning at the 14-yard line.

Zach Evans kicked two field goals, with 9 seconds left until half and again midway through the third quarter, for a 13-6 Bears lead.

It took two minutes for LC to tie the game. Robinson gained 42 yards on three carries and his second screen pass went 26 yards for the touchdown.

A Kyle Renz interception on the first play of the fourth quarter, CV’s third pick of the game, led to its 20-13 lead. Much of the eight-play drive came from the bullish Kadoya, plus a 20-yard tackle-shredding reception by Matt Morgan.

The lead lasted all of 23 seconds, Robinson taking the handoff, making a jab step, and sprinting left to a vacant corner on his 73-yard burst.

“I try and use my vision and make good cuts,” said Robinson, a junior, who credited watching film with his evolution. “I was doing some things wrong and tried to get my pads a little lower.”

Luby came up with a diving catch of a 31-yard Chad Bemis pass to CV’s 20 on the team’s next possession. His grab of a drilled ball in traffic produced the winning score with 2:11 remaining.

“If we’re going to be a success, seniors have to make plays,” said Yearout. “Kevin made two huge plays that were a big difference in the game.”

Twice in the second half promising Bears drives were thwarted by untimely holding penalties and produced only a field goal. They ran 59 plays, Evans with 87 rushing yards and Ebat 15 of 23 passing.

“They had a great plan in terms of attacking our defense and keeping the ball away from us,” said Yearout.