T R Robinson High School - Excalibur Yearbook (Tampa, FL)

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Felix Cruz watches the offense. Protected by offensive linemen, Chris Lucas looks for open receivers. Driving for yardage, Ronnie Coker tries to score before being tackled. JV FOOTBALL R.H.S. Opponent 14 Plant City 12 18 King 0 26 Leto 15 18 Brandon 6 O Plant 8 12 Chamberlain 0 JV Football! 243

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Junior Vorsify wins 5 in becoming Western Conference Champions Once again the Baby Knights upheld their proud tradition of being No. 1, winning the Western Conference cham- pionship with a record of five wins and one loss. The Knights started the season with a 14-12 victory over Plant City, then followed by soundly beating King 18-O. Alvin Holden's three scores helped the Knights to defeat Leto 26-15. Robinson traveled to Brandon to dash the Ea- gles' hopes 18-6. Stopping the string at four wins, the Plant Panthers shut out the Knights 8-0, but Robinson recovered to beat Chamberlain 12-0 in the closing game. Quarterback Chris Lucas led the balanced running and halfback Alvin Holden, the leading scorer with 42 points. Fullback Ronnie Coker and end Jimmy Williams contri- buted to the rushing yardage, and each scored several touchdowns. Holding their opponents to 41 points, the Knight defense produced turnovers to help the offense. Linebackers Ralph Branning, Herbie Allen, and Felix Cruz led the defen- sive backfieldg front four Tyronne Williams, George Buchanan, Paul Kessock, and Gregory Marshall pressured their opponents' offenses. Coaches Dick O'Brien, Tom Mahin, and Dave Best direc- ted the junior varsity team and moved fourteen players to varsity after the J.V. season. Coach O'Brien sternly observes as the offense fumbles the ball. passing attack with the help of r Q PN Bottom Row: Carlos Vega, Randy Colvin, Joseph Simmons, Tom Hembree, Alvin Holden, John Stover, Felix Cruz, Keith Schaffer, Nelson Italiano, Johnny Lynn, Marvin Davis, Robert Hendricks, David Biggers, mgr. Pat Oravetz. Second Row: George Buchanan, Steve Drolet, Matt Verdieck, Tony Hamon, Terry Parrish, Bill Tartaglia, James Wishart, George Brigode, Bob Gilmore, Steve Hamrick, Bob Coughlin, Jim Williams, Ronnie Coker, Robert Welch. Top Row: Paul Kessock, George Bartke, Jack Tyler, Mike Rodgers, Raymon Myrick, Ralph Branning, Tim Franklin, Chris Lucas, Tyrone Williams, Herbie Allen, Gary Scurlock, Norman Williamson, Mark Stock, Alvin Jackson, Fred Maier, David Boone, Greg Marshall, Hunter Hansen, Randy Johnson, Kevin Libby. Togetherness made us a winning team. - Coach Dick O'Brien 242 I JV Football Alvin Holden follows key blocks by Jimmy Williams and Gary Scurlock. E f W ww. ' at , ., . f-. , M 1 ' - ' ' ', 'F 'G ' V. Wim. '7.yfjfV 'AZ-gfmfffw ' V ' MM 1 ' f ' P ' .,-, 1 1. 1 -' 1 is ' fm- .Q A QQ, ' 1

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Cogers finish fourth, bow to Ponthers in tournoment Fast breaks, good rebounding and balanced scoring were all characteristics of the 1973 Knight basketball team. Under the leadership of Coach Herman Valdes, the Knights rolled up a 14-7 regular-season record. lt was a year of ups and downs for the Knights. Sometimes they were bril- liant, as in the 104-62 defeat of Leto, the 82-63 win over Conference leader Plant, and the 83-80 defeat of Hills- borough. But at times the team did not perform well. Two close losses to the Chamberlain Chiefs, two to Brandon, and the 67-60 loss to winless King were among the low points of the year. Valdes' Knights, who led the Western Conference in team scoring, included five players averaging in double figures. Forward Otis Rogers led the team with a 19.1 points - per - game average. Much-improved forward Rob- ert Williams averaged 14.7, while guard Teddy Brown had an average of 13.6. Franklin Williams scored 12.3 points per game, Sophomore Herb Allen scored 12.5 points per game in the nine games he participated in. Allen, a play- er Coach Valdes expects to become extremely valuable in the future, was ineligible for over half the season. On Jan- uary 19, he dressed out for the first time, but he did not see action. He played against Jesuit on the following night. It was ruled that even though the first semester was over, he was still ineligible. As a result, Robinson was forced to forfeit both games. The district tournament took place February 22-24 at Robinson's new gymnasium. The Knights were entered as the fourth seed. Robinson faced Jefferson on opening night and defeated them 58-50 with center Franklin Williams leading with his 15 points. The next evening, Robinson played first seed Plant for a berth in the finals, but the Knights fell in a 68-63 thriller that ended the 1973 season for basketball. Player photos furnished by Student Council decorated the new gymnasium. 244 I Basketball Starting forward Robert Williams blocks a shot under the boards. Coach Valdes screams, Defense!