Staff Report
There was a game last year when an opposing defensive back hit Washington Township’s Jaylen Robinson at the 2-yard line, seemingly stopping the Minutemen from scoring a touchdown.
But what that defensive back didn’t realize was that even as a high school senior, Robinson was a full-grown man, and that kid on the other team got bulldozed into the end zone and was flat on his back as Robinson celebrated one of his 12 rushing touchdowns — and he wasn’t even coach Mike Schatzman’s featured running back!
Robinson was just bigger, faster and stronger than everybody else on the field, and when you needed some tough yards, tell quarterback Cole Aquino to turn around and hand the ball to No. 10. It really was that simple sometimes — we have one of the toughest, strongest kids in South Jersey, see if you can stop him.
Not many could, as Robinson rushed for nearly 600 yards on only 58 carries. And he was even more devastating as a linebacker, as he racked up a team-high 105 tackles, at least 30 more than anybody else on the team. He had seven sacks and an incredible 22.5 tackles for loss. He basically lived in the opposing team’s backfield.
In five of Township’s 14 wins last season, Robinson recorded double-digit tackles, including a season high 13 twice, in an early season win over Williamstown and in the state championship victory over Passaic Tech. Robinson led Township to a 31-12 win in the state title game, as he had six solo tackles and seven assists, including a pair of TFLs.
He finished his career with 19 touchdowns scored and 859 rushing yards, and on defense he had 326 tackles — including 13 sacks and 61.5 TFLs — in his three varsity seasons.
— Staff Writer Dave O’Sullivan
