‘Self-Inflicted Wounds’ Costly as Seahawks Fall To Robinson

RESTON, VA — As the South Lakes High Seahawks lined up 2-by-2 to leave the field on Friday night, head coach Jason Hescock positioned himself between the two lines and extended high- and low-fives to every player who passed.

“I’m not quitting. You see me quitting?” Hescock said as the players filed by. “These are self-inflicted wounds, gentlemen. We can and will fix this.”

Indeed they were. South Lakes played Robinson dead even for 2 ½ quarters, but an ill-fated punt attempt led to two scores in 90 seconds from which the Seahawks never recovered in falling, 27-6, to the Rams.

Robinson avenged a 42-0 loss the previous year and improved to 1-1. South Lakes fell to 0-2 going into its homecoming game next Friday against Falls Church, which is also 0-2.

It was 6-6 at halftime as the teams had taken each others’ best punches on offense and held each other to a pair of field goals. Seahawks kicker Nicholas Bertoni, who missed last week’s game, booted field goals of 36 and 32 yards on South Lakes’ first two possessions, and a third attempt, from 39 yards sailed left as the first quarter ended.

A South Lakes penalty and a key 11-yard run by Robinson’s Torrance Thompson (21 carries-78 yards) led to a 30-yard field goal by Robinson’s Ethan Jacobs that cut the lead to 6-3. Then a 24-yard completion from Robinson’s Jackson Scaperotto enabled the Rams to get close enough for a 23-yard Jacobs field goal on the last play of the half to make it 6-6.

The Seahawks then opened the second half with a defensive stand and got the ball back at their 33. Three plays later they were forced to punt. Hescock ordered a rugby-style punt, where the punter sprints out to a side then punts the ball just as the defense is closing in. But the punter chose not to punt but to try to run for the first down. The Seahawks needed 10 yards, and the punter was dropped for a loss of one at the Robinson 32.

Two plays later, Robinson took the lead for good with a 7-yard run by Dominic Santa Ana. South Lakes then fumbled the kickoff, and two plays after that, Robinson added another touchdown on a 20-yard pass from Scaperotto (22-12-0, 179 yards, 2 TDs).

“He’s not a typical punter; he’s an athlete,” Hescock said. “And we tell them if you have a clean shot at [running for a first down] to go for it. But that wasn’t the time and place for that, and he didn’t have the shot. And the momentum of that game flipped on that one play.”

South Lakes didn’t get another first down until its final drive, by which time Robinson led 27-6. Hescock even replaced senior quarterback Mohamed Schuaib with sophomore Christian Wyatt in the final series, and Wyatt completed two of the three passes he attempted.

“We were just trying stuff at that point, and Mo didn’t have the hot hand,” Hescock said. “But we put a lot of sophomores in key spots, and they’re going to make mistakes. Game-day mistakes are on the coaches. We have to get them ready, and we’re not doing it.”

The Seahawks cut their penalties from 17 to nine this week, but they seemed to all come at crucial times. On its first drive, South Lakes accumulated four first downs and had first-and-goal on the 7 only to suffer two penalties and have to settle for a field goal.

Later in the first quarter, Shuaib broke free for a 24-yard run down to the Robinson 2, only to have it called back by a holding penalty. A 15-yard dead ball personal foul enabled Robinson to tie the game at halftime. Two other penalties rubbed out double-digit gains.

“It not only takes away big plays and hurts us on yardage, but we can’t get our tempo going when we’re getting penalties,” Hescock said. “We’re a young team – even a lot of the seniors who are playing are taking on much bigger roles this year. We need success to get our momentum going.

“Right now, we’re not getting that success, and when we do, we’re hurting ourselves with mistakes.”

Robinson 0 6 14 7-27
South Lakes 6 0 0 0-6
SL-Nicholas Bertoni, FG 36
SL-Bertoni, FG 32
R-Ethan Jacobs, FG 30
R-Jacobs, FG 23
R-Dominic Santa Ana, 7 run (Jacobs kick)
R-Keegan Zylstra, 29 pass from Jackson Scaperotto (Jacobs kick)
R-Zylstra, 43 pass from Scaperotto (Jacobs kick)

R SL
First Downs 10 12
Rushes-Yds 31-102 33-89
Passing Yds 179 83
Att-Compl-Int 22-12-0 22-12-1
Punts-Avg 4-41 4-42
Fum-Loss 1-1 2-1
Penalties-Yds 4-40 9-70

Rushing – Robinson: Torrance Thompson 21-78, Jackson Scaperotto 10-17, Dominic Santa Ana 1-7. South Lakes: Cody Wood 13-62, Alec Saunders 4-2, Mohamed Shuaib 11-11, Will Kouadio 1-7, Nicholas Piccarelli 2-2, Christian Wyatt 1-minus 9, Dalton Blakeney 1-14.
Passing – Robinson: Scaperotto 22-12-0, 179 yards, 2 TDs. South Lakes: Shuaib 19-10-1, 80 yards. Wyatt 3-2-0, 3 yards.

Receiving – Robinson: Zylstra 7-119, 2 TDs; Pavlos Spyridakis 2-13, Daniel Scaperotto 2-3.Brockton Riley 1-34. South Lakes: Saunders 5-22, Wood 1-16, Sammy Alfred 2-12, Kouadio 1-9, Piccarelli 2-10, Matt McArthur 1-10.