November 5, 2011

Bayonne's Malcolm Robinson (3) goes airborn for his second touchdown of the game. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)

Bayonne at Memorial Football Photo Gallery

WEST NEW YORK – Malcolm Robinson could hear the playful ribbing from his teammates and assistant coach Jammal Lord before he could even reach the Bayonne sideline. For the second time of the game, a long Robinson run has stalled just one yard short of the end zone.

“I was already getting it on the sidelines from the coaches and the players,” said Robinson with a smile. “But hey, what can you say. I love those guys and they're the reason I can do what I do.”

Aside from those innocent verbal jabs, little else went wrong for Robinson or the Bees.as he rushed for 237 yards and three touchdowns as Bayonne rolled past Memorial 41-0 last night at Coviello Field.

“As a team, I have to say this was one of our best overall games,” Robinson said. “We had very few mental errors and mistakes and we just played good as a unit.”

Right from the opening whistle, Robinson and the Bees (7-2) imposed their will. The senior speedster scampered 43 yards for a touchdown on just the game’s second play from scrimmage.

Robinson would strike again on Bayonne’s second possession with a 30-yard score on a draw play. Less than six minutes later, the Bayonne speedster would gash the Tigers (5-4) for a 60-yard run all the way down to the 1 and on the next play soared over the line for the touchdown, his third of the first quarter.

“He's been close all year and the last couple of weeks, he's been one guy away from breaking it (for a touchdown),” Bees head coach Rick Rodriguez said. “We tightend up our alignments on the line at the point of attack and our linemen did a better job of blocking downfield.”

Rodriguez also credited the move of senior Russell Falacara from tackle to guard as a factor in the Bees’ revived running game.

Robinson, who averaged close to 20 yards on his 12 carries, would add runs of 52 and 26 yards in the third quarter to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for the season. The first-year starter at running back transferred the credit for the milestone to his teammates with the kind of quickness he has used to terrorize opposing defenses.

“My O-Line came out firing and they're the reason I was able to do what I could do yet again. They've been doing it the whole year,” Robinson said. “This 1,000 yards is not my 1,000 yards, it's my line's 1,000 yards and my fullback's 1,000 yards.”

Quarterback Chris Wright would rush for a pair touchdowns and Ceaon Marlin added a score early in the fourth for a Bayonne team, which has now won three straight.

The Bees’ defense showed no ill-effects from a short work week after playing on Monday (a 19-7 win over St. Anthony). The unit limited the Memorial offense to just 86 yards of total offense and six first downs. The Tigers’ offense never moved the ball past the Bayonne 35 and standout running back Chris Gomez was held to 67 hard-fought yards on 21 carries.

Both teams now turn their attention to the state playoffs. Memorial limps into the North 1, Group IV tournament, having lost three of it’s last four.

Bayonne enters the playoffs with a three-game winning streak and knows it needs all the positive momentum it can get entering a loaded North 2, Group IV section which includes teams like Elizabeth, Hunterdon Central, East Orange Campus, Piscataway and Union, prompting Rodriguez to compare it to college football’s SEC.

“We don't know who we're going to get, but we have to be at the top of our game,” Robinson said. “We got to have all of the momentum we can going into the states and hopefully make a push for a championship.”

Memorial's Elicio Olivares (left) looks to avoid the tackle after making a reception. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)

Bayonne at Memorial Football Photo Gallery