FAIRFIELD — With running back Mitchell Cushing out with an injury, the Lawrence High School football team needed to find somebody who could carry the ball between the tackles. Enter senior Cole Robinson, the Bulldogs’ Mr. Anything.
“It was definitely new for me. I’ve never done it before. I was just stepping in and doing what Mitch was doing,” Robinson said.
In his first game as a running back, Robinson was stellar. The senior ran for 130 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries, helping the Bulldogs take a 34-14 win over rival Messalonskee in the regular-season finale.
Lawrence, now 6-2, will be home for a playoff game and waits to see how the Crabtree points shake out in the hopes that it earned a bye out of the first round.
“Playoffs at Keyes Field. The atmosphere here’s great. I can’t wait,” Robinson said.
Messalonskee, now 4-4, also waits for the results of Saturday games to learn its playoff fate.
Robinson scored on runs of 26, 3 and 6 yards, and his final touchdown pushed Lawrence’s lead to 20-7 late in the third quarter.
“We had to get some kids back in the backfield with Mitchell being out. Cole is a pretty versatile player, as everyone knows. It was a good move to get him back there,” Lawrence coach John Hersom said.
With 9:33 left in the game, Messalonskee kept it close with a big play. On fourth and goal from the Lawrence 25, quarterback Jake Dexter rolled to his left and found Colby Dexter with a touchdown pass to cut Lawrence’s lead to 20-14.
Messalonskee’s momentum lasted just 14 seconds. On the Bulldogs’ first play of the ensuing drive, quarterback Cody Martin ran 80 yards down the Lawrence sideline for a touchdown, pushing the Bulldogs’ lead to 27-14.
“I saw the hole and just took it. I was tip-toeing the sideline and turned the jets on,” said Martin, who ran for 134 yards.
After a Robinson interception near midfield, the Bulldogs iced the game with a 10-play, 55-yard scoring drive, culminating with a 1-yard plunge by Martin with 4:11 left in the game.
“I just saw the ball and I went for it,” Robinson said of his pick.
To Messalonskee coach Brad Bishop, the difference in the game was simple.
“Outblocked and outtackled tonight,” Bishop said. “We had our spurts, but no excuses, they beat us up front.”
Added Hersom: “We felt we had a good scout on them. We try to scout every team, break every team down, and we felt we had some things defensively we could us.”
Lawrence took a 6-0 lead with 8:17 left in the first quarter on Robinson’s 26-yard touchdown run. With 10:22 left in the second quarter, Messalonskee took a 7-6 lead when Jake Dexter and Colby Dexter connected on a 30-yard touchdown pass.
Lawrence took the lead for good with 6:29 left in the first half when Robinson scored on a 3-yard run.
Jack Bernatchez led Messalonskee with 97 yards on 21 carries.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
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