Edgewood quarterback Michael Robinson didn’t start Friday’s game against Aberdeen under center. Instead, he watched his team’s first offensive series from the sideline. “There were three or four of them that we had to deal with some things this week,” Rams coach Ken Brinkman said.
Robinson stood idle as his offense went three-and-out without their star signal caller. Kyion Greenwood’s kickoff return touchdown on their next chance — Edgewood’s only score for most of the first half — meant Robinson didn’t see the field until late in the second quarter.
He jogged on for the first time with his team down a score and Aberdeen’s offense showing no signs of slowing down. Calmly and methodically, Robinson brought his team back as Edgewood and Aberdeen traded scores. In the end, it was the quarterback who couldn’t start the game who closed it with another impressive victory, 36-28 over the Eagles.
“I commend them all for understanding what we’re trying to do and build responsibility and accountability,” Brinkman said. “And they knew. They were OK. But for them to come back and show what they can do when we’re together, I’m proud of all of them.”
Robinson rushed for a 20-yard score on his second possession to give his team its first lead late in the first half. He added another touchdown on the ground on Edgewood’s first possession out of halftime to retake the lead, which Brinkman pinpointed as Friday’s turning point.
While Robinson steals attention, Greenwood was perhaps Edgewood’s best player Friday. His early kickoff return touchdown jumpstarted what had been a stagnant offense, and his two second-half rushing scores helped the Rams pull away.
“He’s a downhill, shot-out-of-a-cannon runner,” Brinkman said of Greenwood. “He makes one cut and he’s going to find it.”
Jayden Harvin also added a rushing touchdown, one of four imposing scores by Edgewood’s seemingly unlimited riches of offensive talent that has the Rams 2-0 with a pair of wins over in-county Class 3A opponents.
Aberdeen lets lead slip away and loses star running back in the process
The second half was full of miscues for Aberdeen: dropped passes, two interceptions and a defense that Robinson and Edgewood broke down over time. But chief among their problems is Anthony Hall, who left the game with an injury in the third quarter. Coach Kaleb Myers said he fears it’s a broken collarbone.
“I’m going to visit him in the hospital right now,” Myers said after the game.
Before Hall went down, he and Cameron Durbin formed perhaps Harford County’s most dominant rushing attack. After combining for 253 total yards and three touchdowns in their season opening win over Harford Tech, they appeared to be wearing down the Edgewood defense in a first half that ended with the Eagles up 20-14. Durbin did his best to keep them in it after Hall exited with a 67-yard touchdown in the third quarter that would be Aberdeen’s last score of the night.
Durbin and Hall’s connection dates years. They grew up together and played on the same youth level teams, forming a bond that remained tight even when they spent the last three years at different schools. Hall, who played at Joppatowne last season, and Durbin, who spent his first two years at Aberdeen before a one year stint at John Carroll, even have a nickname for themselves.
“I’m Knuckles,” Durbin said. “He’s Sonic.”
Aberdeen will likely be forced to move forward without its dynamic backfield tandem that powered it through two weeks, a 1-1 start that Myers is encouraged by.
“We’ve made some progress from last year,” the coach said. “Our goal was always to win the division championship. I think that’s still in sight.”
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