Virginia AAA Patriot
Robinson's Catch Elevates Annandale
Melvin Robinson, right, hauls in the decisive touchdown over Andre Simmons. "We were both bobbling [the ball] but he just came up with it," Simmons said.
(By John Mcdonnell -- The Washington Post)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
Friday, September 18, 2009
A church marquee just off Silverbrook Road less than a mile from South County's Lorton campus entrance was lettered with a simple request: Share Your Gift.
Thursday night, two of the area's biggest recruits -- junior Melvin Robinson, an Annandale wide receiver, and senior Andre Simmons, a South County defensive back, -- took the message to heart in front of about 2,000. Both players made a series of game-changing plays that ended with Annandale earning a crucial early-season victory in the Virginia AAA Patriot District, 7-6.
Robinson, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound leaper with a knack for acrobatic catches, elevated over Simmons to reel in a 26-yard jump ball from Annandale sophomore Tony Hysjulien to put Annandale (3-0, 1-0) up 7-0 early in the second half.
"I saw the [pass] was a little short, so I had to come back and get it," said Robinson, one of the top recruits in the class of 2011. "Our wide receivers coordinator [Christopher Bagot] told me at halftime to come back for the ball, go get everything."
Robinson's catch, on a ball Simmons nearly swatted away twice, broke the scoring drought and capped a 10-play, 81-yard march to open the second half. Hysjulien and running backs Stacey Anderson and Stephen Cook keyed the drive, picking up massive chunks of yardage by exploiting the middle of the South County defensive line.
"I had him in man-to-man coverage and I had to make the play," Simmons said. "We were both bobbling [the ball] but he just came up with it."
But Simmons -- a speedster who will choose Friday between offers from Rutgers, Boston College and Vanderbilt -- used his speed to seemingly breathe life back into the Stallions as he returned the ensuing kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown.
Simmons's return, however, was called back by a penalty.
South County (2-1, 0-1) scored its lone touchdown in the fourth quarter after Evan Beal, a 6-4 junior quarterback, stepped in to toss a 27-yard touchdown to junior Michael Vane. But Annandale blocked the extra point and then intercepted Beal on the Stallions' final fourth quarter chance to seal the victory.
Annandale 7, South County 6 A Winning History: Even with a 131-77 record in 20 seasons (a .630 winning percentage), Annandale Coach Dick Adams is third all-time in school history for winning percentage, behind Ed Henry (60-22, .682) and Bob Hardage (198-61, .756). Night of the Weird: In the oddest play of the night, Evan Beal threw what appeared to be an interception by Annandale's D.J. Lawrence, however, a South County player recovered the ball off Lawrence's shoulder and made a seven-yard gain to set up fourth and two.
