While Mill Creek figures out how to fill the gap left by the departure of quarterback Hayden Clark, receiver Caleb Downs — now a freshman at Alabama — and a handful of weapons that made the Hawks one of the best offenses in the state last season, there’s one key returner on which they can rely.
Running back Cam Robinson, who rushed for more than 1,800 yards a year ago, is well on that pace once again. His dominating 229-yard rushing and two touchdown performance Saturday led Mill Creek to a season-opening 49-14 win over North Gwinnett at the Corky Kell Classic at Mercedes Benz Stadium.
While Robinson had a slow start to the game, his persistence paid off when he ripped off a 61-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to give the Hawks a 21-7 lead. After that, Robinson gashed the Bulldogs with runs of 19, 36, and a 32-yard touchdown.
Mill Creek head coach Josh Lovejoy said despite what the Hawks lost from a year ago, they return a lot of experience on the offensive line, which sets Robinson up for another big season.
“He’ll be the first one to tell you we’ve got three offensive linemen and a couple tight ends who are back too, Lovejoy said. “We got some hidden gems in there. In the second half, we settled in, and I think we ran the same play 15 times. (Robinson’s) got the ability to get to the edge, make people miss in space, and cut back. What a huge piece of the equation he is.”
North Gwinnett squandered two opportunities just before and right after halftime. Trailing 21-14, the Bulldogs drove down to the 1-yard line, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty set them back with a third-and-goal from the 16.
That didn’t appear to be a factor as quarterback Shane Throgmartin hit Jack Brumblelow running open in the flat, but he was stopped just short of the goal line, an official’s review confirmed. One foot away from a game-tying touchdown, Throgmartin handed off to running back Julian Walters with three seconds on the clock, but he was hit immediately and stopped short, allowing the Hawks to escape with a 7-point advantage.
The Bulldogs drove into the red zone again on their first possession of the second half, but a penalty set them back with a fourth-and-11 at the 21-yard line. Instead of attempting the field goal, the Bulldogs failed to convert and turned the ball over on downs.
Robinson hit two big runs, including his second touchdown, on the ensuing Mill Creek drive to put the Hawks up 28-14. The Hawks never looked back from there.
“We fought hard in the first half, had a chance to tie it at the end of the half,” Bulldogs head coach Eric Godfree said. “We didn’t. Second half, we started out well, forced the punt, got the ball and had a chance to score. We should’ve kicked the field goal. That’s on me.”
MC—|7|14|14|14--|49
NG—|0|14|0|0|--|14
First Quarter
MC—Trajen Greco 63 pass from Shane Throgmartin (Brady Lane kick)
Second Quarter
MC—Greco 7 pass from Throgmartin (Lane kick)
NG—Samford Halcomb 29 pass from Ryan Hall (kick blocked)
MC—Cam Robinson 61 run (Lane kick)
NG—Erik Ronning 21 pass from Throgmartin (Chandler Jordan run)
Third Quarter
MC—Justin Content 36 pass from Throgmartin (Lane kick)
MC— Robinson 32 run (Lane kick)
Fourth Quarter
MC—Daniel Smith 11 run (Lane kick)
MC—Demarko Lawler 26 interception return (Lane kick)
