No one sells tickets for halftime locker room speeches, but after Friday night’s game in Robinson, it might be a good idea.

After falling behind 33-14 in the fourth quarter, Groesbeck came back and then escaped with a 43-40 win on a missed 38-yard field goal by Robinson on the final play.

“I told them, ‘We’re OK. Just keep moving the ball. (Robinson) made big plays. For once, let’s make one.’” Groesbeck coach Stephen Burrow said.

Robinson’s Stephen Mitchell scores past Groesbeck’s Stephen Ruen in the third quarter.
Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald

Robinson (0-2) and Groesbeck (1-1) struggled through the first half, combining for three fumbles, two interceptions, two turnovers on downs and four punts.

Robinson managed a touchdown when Hunter Abbe woke up the Robinson fans with 1:27 remaining in the half. Quarterback Chad Hollingsworth faked a receiver screen while Abbe raced past his cornerback en route to an 82-yard touchdown reception.

It wasn’t the first try on the play. Hollingsworth and Abbe tried the play four minutes earlier, but Hollingsworth led Abbe a yard too far.

Everything changed in the second half.

Center Jose Del Toro, who was filling in for an injured starter, had several errant snaps in the first half of his first game, but settled down in the second. Groesbeck then rattled off all 43 points — 36 in the fourth quarter.

Robinson didn’t struggle offensively, either, adding 33 points in the second half.

Where it did struggle was on special teams. The Rockets missed two extra points and botched two onside kicks.

Robinson led 33-21 after Stephen Ruen’s 15-yard touchdown reception, but the Goats added two more scores from Matt Barnes (3-yard run) and Michael Graves (28-yard run).

“The first one was perfect,” Burrow said of the onside kicks. “The second one was a gift.”

The first caught the Rockets by surprise and ricocheted off the front line. The second slipped through a Robinson player’s hands at the Robinson 40.

Robinson wasn’t finished. The Rockets drove 51 yards behind Stephen Mitchell, who bounced off two Goat tacklers and spun away from a third en route to a 28-yard score.

The Rockets led, 40-36, with 3:37 remaining.

Four plays later, Graves caught a flare pass from quarterback Chase Burrow and weaved his way 72 yards for a 43-40 lead at the 2:32 mark.

“ ‘As long as there’s time on the clock, we still have a chance,’ I told them,” Robinson coach Brian Lewis said.

Hollingsworth directed an 11-play drive, including a fourth-and-10 conversion to Abbe, to give kicker Abe Ceballos a chance to send the game to overtime.

“I’m proud that our quarterback kept his composure,” Lewis said.

Robinson’s running game didn’t fare well inside the tackles in the first half. Of Stephen Mitchell’s five first-half inside runs, he totaled three yards. Once he stretched his runs to the outside, his speed carried him to solid gains.

Robinson, which didn’t force a turnover in its 21-7 loss to Alvarado last week, earned its first of the season on a key third-down try. Trying to answer Abbe’s touchdown, Groesbeck drove from its own 37-yard line to the Robinson 25. A bad snap dropped them back to the 33 and Chase Burrow forced a throw inside. Linebacker Tyler Johnson read Burrow’s eyes and stepped in front of the intended receiver, ending the Goats’ possession with an interception.

Burrow finished 31-for-48 for 359 yards.