By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

MOUNT ULLA — It was Friday, Oct. 13, and after severe beatdowns by South Piedmont Conference bullies Northwest Cabarrus and Jay M. Robinson, West Rowan’s home football game against Central Cabarrus had become a must-win.

A must-win for respect, a must-win as far as trying to finish third in the SPC standings, a must-win as far as making the 3A state playoffs.

For West’s senior cornerback and return man Aubree Robinson, it was an even more meaningful game than it was for his coaches and teammates.

“The Central game that was a very tough night because I’d found out that day that my grandfather had died,” Robinson said. “I knew we really needed a win, but for me, that game was all about him.”

Robinson couldn’t have done any more than he did for his family and to honor his grandfather. Besides breaking up passes and making aggressive stops on running plays, he had a kickoff return touchdown of 85 yards and a punt return touchdown of 45 yards.

“What I remember most about that game is the block that Evan Kennedy laid for me on the kickoff return touchdown,” Robinson said. “Evan is a great and well-rounded player who is going to do big things in football. But as good as that block, it takes the whole kickoff team doing their job when you take one all the way. We had very good return teams. I couldn’t have done anything without all of them.”

Robinson is the Post’s Special Teams Player of the Year.

This is the sixth year a special teams sparkplug has been recognized. Robinson is the second Falcon to be honored. The first was kicker Federico Cruz in 2019.

Winners so far have been an even split between guys who kick and guys who return kicks.

There was stiff competition for Robinson. Salisbury’s Hank Webb and North Rowan’s Daniel Montes Medrano handled the kicking and the punting for highly successful teams. North’s record-setting running back Jaemias Morrow had two return TDs. Then there was South Rowan’s Jadon Moore, a unique athlete who both kicks and returns kicks. He had one return touchdown.

Robinson first made an impression on West coaches as a freshman. That was the crazy COVID season that was delayed for months.

“Our first scrimmage, he made a special play, and we looked at each other and we kind of knew this kid was going to be on the varsity field for us some as a freshman,” West head coach Louis Kraft said. “He became a three-year starting DB for us.”

Robinson was as surprised as anyone that he became a DB. He’d been a middle school running back and dreamed about scoring touchdowns, but the Falcons had several experienced running backs in front of him. The greater need was on defense, so Robinson was converted to a cornerback.

“I had to learn a new position,” Robinson said. “I was a little bit afraid of tackling guys when I first started, but as time passed I got more confident. I learned to love playing corner and coming up and being physical and making tackles.”

His combination of speed and hands helped make Robinson an ideal return man, but Kraft wasn’t always pleased with Robinson’s punt returns in 2022.

“He let the ball hit the ground a lot last year,” Kraft said. “A guy would punt it 25 yards and he’d allow it to roll another 15 or 20 yards. This isn’t the NFL. At our level, guys aren’t banging those punts up into the lights. If the guys on the punt return team do their job, we should not have to let balls roll and we shouldn’t have to fair-catch very often. But catching punts is not a job everyone can do. It’s a challenge for most guys to catch a punt, and it’s an even bigger challenge to be able to catch it with guys running full speed and coming down on them.”

This year, Robinson made up his mind to catch the punts. Punters usually had order to kick it to Robinson because West would have Jaylen Neely, the star running back, back deep on the other side. It was a pick-your-poison scenario, and Robinson often was the choice.

He was ready for the challenge.

“I told Coach (Durwood) Bynum to put me back there, and I’d catch the ball,” Robinson said. “And I did. I trusted my teammates to block for me, and I caught it.”

“Tunnel vision” is what Kraft calls it. Robinson developed it. He found extreme confidence and the ability to tune out the crowd and the defenders, catch the ball in the air and try to make a play.

Buoyed by the wins over Central Cabarrus and Concord, West was able to wrap up a playoff berth.

The Falcons closed the regular season against East Rowan, and there was a little more magic left in Robinson’s legs. Kennedy, who is lethal in the open field, was Robinson’s partner on kickoff returns, so the Mustangs kicked deep to Robinson to start the game. That kickoff went 90 yards to the house to set the tone for a West romp.

“I remember watching that kickoff and I was thinking it was going to Kennedy, but then it curved to me,” Robinson said. “I remember thinking, ‘OK, let’s do this. Coach (Tim) Dixon has told me time after time that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, so I took it straight up the field, full speed, trusting my teammates to get their blocks. Like a hurricane, Robinson blew right up the middle for a 90-yard touchdown.

“Yes, that was a nice way to start a game,” Kraft said. “I’ve always felt any time you get points from your defense or your special teams, it’s a game you should win.”

 

Special Teams Player of the Year
2018 — Cameron Gill, Salisbury KR
2019 — Federico Cruz, West K
2021SP — Wade Robins, Salisbury K
2021 — Wade Robins, Salisbury K
2022 — Jaemias Morrow, North KR
2023 — Aubree Robinson, West KR