T.C. Williams receiver Landon Moss, seen earlier this season, caught three touchdown passes from Alec Grosser during the Titans’ 40-21 loss to Robinson on Sept. 14. Photo by Craig Sterbutzel.
For a second straight game, the T.C. Williams football team got off to a rough start. On Sept. 14, the Titans once again failed to overcome an early deficit, this time falling to the Robinson Rams, 40-21, in Fairfax.
Robinson got off to a quick start with a 2- yard rushing touchdown by running back Joe Wilson and at the end of the quarter he added his second touchdown of the night on a 32-yard catch from quarterback Michael Hugney. The extra point attempt failed.
The Titans, looking for any momentum they could find, went for it on fourth-andtwo at the Robinson 29 on their first drive in the second quarter. Like much of the first quarter, they couldn’t pick up the necessary yards on the tough Robinson defense and turned the ball over on downs.
In the beginning of the second quarter, the Titans defense started to contain Wilson and forced the Rams to punt.
TC, trailing 13-0, started with the ball on its own 25 with 7:49 left in the half and through numerous big plays by quarterback Alec Grosser and wide receiver Landon Moss, drove the field. The drive stalled at the Robinson 17 and head coach Dennis Randolph decided to leave his offense on the field and go for the touchdown on fourth down.
“We felt like we needed the seven points,” Grosser said.
Grosser hit Moss on a “go” route in the back of the end zone to make the score 13- 7 and provide the Titans with the break for which they had been searching.
The momentum was short lived, however, as Wilson immediately countered TC’s score with a 55-yard touchdown run of his own. The Rams went for two and got it, but a penalty forced a retry and Robinson came up empty, leaving the Rams with a 19-7 lead.
The Rams quickly forced a three-and-out and after a TC punt, Wilson went back to work by scoring a 70-yard rushing touchdown with 2:08 left in the half. A successful two-point conversion made it 27-7.
Again, the Titans were unable to drive the field, but regained possession with 25 seconds left in the half after recovering a punt that bounced off a Robinson player’s helmet. Grosser and Moss connected for a 16-yard touchdown, leaving 5 seconds on the clock.
Even though the Titans struggled for a majority of the first half, big plays by Grosser and Moss kept the team within striking distance and with momentum heading into the second half.
The Titans received the ball first in the second half and Phil Tyler gave them good starting field position, returning the ball to the Titans 42. Grosser and running back Dealo Robertson drove them down the field and Grosser and Moss connected for their third touchdown of the night on a 5-yard pass in the back of the end zone. With 5:46 left in the third quarter, the Titans were trailing, 27-21.
Things continued to go well for the Titans when they forced the Rams into a fourthand-two. A penalty prevented the Rams from going for it and forced them to punt.
After a strong Robinson punt, the Titans started at their 5 and were unable to get anything going. TC went three-and-out and after a punt, the Rams took over at TC’s 35 with 21 seconds left in the third.
On the first play of the drive, Wilson scored his fifth touchdown of the night on a 32-yard run, putting the Rams up 33-21 heading into the fourth quarter.
After another stalled drive by the Titans, Robinson and Wilson capitalized once again on a 36-yard touchdown run, putting them up 40-21.
Grosser tried to lead a quick scoring drive, but it stalled at midfield and a penalty on fourth down forced them to punt.
“We need to cut down on the mistakes and score more points to have a better shot at winning the game,” Grosser said.
The Rams proved too much for the Titans defense. Wilson finished the game with 413 total yards and six touchdowns.
The Titans (1-2) play South County (0-3) at home at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 22. The Robinson Rams (1-2) will play at Westfield (3-0) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 21