JM Robinson holds off Northwest Cabarrus in Deer Park Water Cabarrus Co. game of the week
Deebo saved Thursday — and he saved J.M. Robinson’s unbeaten season.
D’Nas “Deebo” White stripped the ball from a Northwest Cabarrus runner early in the fourth quarter to spark a game-changing touchdown drive in the Bulldogs’ 21-13 win in the home finale.
White, a senior defensive tackle, helped Robinson (9-0, 6-0 South Piedmont 3A) pass its toughest defensive test of the season and earn sole possession of first place while ending Northwest’s (8-1, 5-1) unbeaten season.
“They’re a good team,” said White, who also tallied a sack. “We knew it was going to be a dogfight. We wanted to blow them out, but we kept shooting ourselves in the foot. But it was a good game. It was a dogfight to the end.”
The Bulldogs twice stopped rival Northwest Cabarrus deep in Robinson’s end without yielding points while forcing three turnovers. The most critical stop was White’s fumble return from inside the Robinson 5. He was caught at the 15, but the damage was done. The Bulldogs produced an 85-yard drive capped by Na’Ledge Wright’s 11-yard gallop up the middle for a 21-7 advantage.
“The running back, my team held him up and I tried to strip it out,” said White, who scored on a fumble return last year. “I tried to strip it out two times and tried to run with it. I got caught, but that’s all right.”
An early Robinson defensive stop resulted in a 32-yard field goal try that sailed wide left. The Bulldogs also forced three turnovers, including Josh Porch’s interception in Robinson territory to ice the game.
The first quarter was a dazzling offensive show by both sides before defenses and miscues caught up to them. Northwest Cabarrus quarterback Alex Walker hit 28 of 44 passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns, while Robinson counterpart Isaac Lee went 11 of 19 for 225 yards. The difference was Robinson’s defense, which came up big when needed.
Three who made a difference
▪ Isaac Lee: Robinson’s quarterback connected on 11 of 19 passes for 225 yards, including 7 of 11 for 174 yards in the first half with two touchdowns. His 74-yard strike to Zay Burnette put the Bulldogs in front 14-0.
▪ Alex Walker: The Northwest Cabarrus quarterback was busy all night, especially in the second half when he went 16 of 23 for 163 yards. He completed 12 of 21 passes in the first half for 142 yards and a first-half touchdown to Cesidio Castricone that cut the Trojans’ deficit to 14-7.
▪ Zay Burnette: The Robinson receiver caught a pair of passes in the first half, but one of them went for a 77-yard touchdown. He finished with four catches for 127 yards
Worth mentioning
▪ Robinson won the turnover battle 3-1.
▪ The Bulldogs tallied three sacks to Northwest Cabarrus’ two.
▪ Both teams made mistakes on special teams. Robinson was flagged twice for roughing the kicker as well as fumbling a punt. Northwest Cabarrus nearly turned the ball over deep in its end of the field when it recovered a mishandled punt.
What’s next?
Northwest Cabarrus travels to Central Cabarrus.
Robinson travels to Mount Pleasant.
Scoring summary
Northwest Cabarrus: 0 7 0 6 – 13
Robinson: 7 7 0 7 – 21
R-Brian Rowe 9-yard pass from Isaac Lee (Ryse Zabo kick)
R-Zay Burnette 77-yard pass from Lee (Zabo kick)
NWC-Cesidio Castricone 4-yard pass from Alex Walker (Henry Forrest kick)
R-Na’Ledge Wright 11-yard run (Zabo kick)
NWC-Henry Forrest 12-yard pass from Walker (kick blocked)
This story was originally published October 19, 2023 at 10:54 PM.