Carson Too Much for San Pedro

A halftime fireworks show lit up the Harbor Area sky Friday night and got good reviews from a near-capacity crowd at San Pedro High, but it didn’t have anything on The James Robinson Show on the field.

Robinson, Carson’s standout senior running back, put on a performance that was thumbs-up all around. He ran for 218 yards and scored two touchdowns in leading the Colts to a 23-15 Marine League victory over San Pedro.

The victory gave defending City Section champion Carson (6-2, 3-0) sole possession of first place in the league and the inside track to the title and what comes with it: a probable high seeding in the playoffs.

“It was a tremendous effort on his part,” Carson Coach John Aguirre said.

San Pedro (5-3, 2-1) had no answer for the 5-foot-9 senior. He tied the score in the first half with a 36-yard scoring run and put it away with an 11-yard run in the third quarter.

It was no surprise to San Pedro Coach Mike Walsh. Last year, Robinson was a little-used reserve until he had a big game against the Pirates and put the Colts on a path toward the City title.

“He’s a good cutback runner,” Walsh said. “A good little player. The guy played three downs last year and then all of a sudden they spring him on us.”

On a nine-play, 78-yard drive in the third quarter, Robinson continually made big plays on third downs.

He bulled his way for a 17-yard gain on third and three at the Carson 29. On third and five at the San Pedro 49, Robinson juked two defenders and split through two others to run for 34 yards to the 15.

He finished the decisive drive with his 11-yard run through the middle on third and six for a 23-7 lead.

“Our coach wanted to throw the ball but I told him that I was going to get that first down,” Robinson said.

A week ago, Carson had its way with Narbonne in a surprising 39-point victory. San Pedro proved to be a tougher opponent--for a while.

Using a trademark play where the Pirates drag their tight end through the line on a run formation, quarterback Robbie Reedy and Justin Andrews executed it to perfection as the wide-open Andrews caught the ball and turned it into a 53-yard scoring play for a 7-0 first-quarter lead.

But Robinson was a constant nuisance to the Pirates and his impact was felt early and often.

In the second quarter, he cut through the San Pedro line on a third-and-one play and broke two tackles to finish a 36-yard touchdown run that tied the score. The play helped Carson take advantage of a fumble by Alexander Teems that Colt linebacker Masao Lutali recovered at the San Pedro 45.

Robinson also had a 38-yard run on the first play of Carson’s next possession. It helped set up a 40-yard field goal that Eder Gonzalez made for a 10-7 Colt lead with 3:08 remaining in the half.

Despite Reedy completing five of seven passes for 88 yards, the Pirates managed only the seven points. The junior made a critical mistake with 25 seconds in the half when he telegraphed a short pass to Danny Fain.

Dant’e North read the pattern and intercepted the pass. He returned it 57 yards for a touchdown but his sprint onto the Pirates’ victory statue outside the end zone helped earn a 15-yard celebration penalty.

Gonzalez’s conversion from 35 yards out was wide left as Carson ended the half with a 16-7 lead.

“I don’t think anything happened to the offense,” Walsh said. “We gave up that cheap touchdown right before halftime.”