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Prince, Groves, combine for six TDs to help hand Harpeth its first loss
East Robertson head coach Chase Brooks was not satisfied with his offensive line’s performance last
week in the Indians’ victory against Cheatham County, so he issued them a challenge.
Based on the response this week, consider that challenge accepted.
East Robertson dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball on their way to a 42-0 victory
over region rival Harpeth.
“Our offensive line didn’t play too well last week,” Brooks said. “We gave up some things on the inside
we shouldn’t have, so we really challenged them to be physical, be nasty and come off the football and
they responded in a great way … same way with the defensive line. They came out and performed.”
The East Robertson offensive line created plenty of running lanes for dynamic running back Zechariah
Prince, whose 286-yard, four-touchdown performance led the Indians (4-1 overall, 2-0 Region 4-2A).
“I love those guys, man,” Prince said of his offensive line. “They really showed they had a chip on their shoulder, and they bounced back, and everybody fed off their energy.”
Harpeth entered the game with a defense that only allowed 8.5 points per game. It took less than five minutes for East Robertson to cut into that average. On the ninth play of East Robertson’s opening drive, Price slipped a tackle, broke to the outside and outraced everyone for a 28-yard touchdown.
Harpeth’s next drive went nowhere, and the short punt that followed took an East Robertson bounce, setting the Indians up near midfield in Harpeth territory. The drive would end with a perfectly placed 19-yard pass for score from Collin Cook to Shaun Groves, who managed to get both feet in bounds in the corner of the end zone. Groves finished with 89 yards and scored on both of his receptions.
Groves talked about the work he put in this offseason and the relationship he has with his quarterback.
“Me and Collin have this ‘connection,’ he put the ball where it needed to be and I told him I was going to
go make a play, and that’s how we did it.”
After East Robertson forced another punt, Prince broke loose and sprinted 67 yards for his second score. on the next play to expand East Robertson’s lead to 21-0 late in the first quarter.
Prince added another score early in the second quarter on a 67-yard cut back play on the next East
Robertson possession.
Harpeth (4-1, 1-1) started to move the ball on the following drive, but the drive stalled near midfield and ended with a turnover on downs.
East Robertson had a rare miscue on the next series as the snap went over Cook’s head, driving them back to their own 30-yard line. On the very next play from scrimmage, Groves snared a tipped wide receiver screen off the turf and rambled 70 yards to put East Robertson up 35-0 at the half and triggering the mercy rule running clock.
Prince added his final touchdown on a 15-yard run in the third after catching a long pass form Cook to set up East Robertson inside the Harpeth 20-yard line.
Harpeth followed with its best drive of the night, getting their deepest penetration into East
Robertson territory at the 21-yard line.
Once again, the East Robertson defensive line, who had harassed Harpeth quarterback Hayden Penrod
all evening long, rushed the throw to Jaden Petty, turning the ball over on downs.
Brooks was overall pleased with his team’s performance in all phases, but particularly the offense
that did not have a turnover and had only one offensive penalty, a delay of game taken intentionally.
“We’ve been telling our guys that we’re capable of big things and great things this season,” Brooks said,
“but we’ve got to take care of the football and get the silly penalties out of the offense, and that showed
tonight.”
