PANHANDLE — Panhandle football coach Dane Ashley has found plenty of success at the quarterback position for the Panthers.
Landyn Hack, Ashley’s son, was the last player to lead the team’s offense, earning District 2-2A Most Valuable Player and All-State honors as a senior in 2022. When Hack graduated and went to play at West Texas A&M, he handed the reigns to Broxton Robinson.
In his first year as a starter, Robinson proved to be the right person for the job, winning Amarillo Globe-News Newcomer of the Year in 2023.
Robinson has had an impressive start to the 2024 campaign as well, leading the Panthers to an unbeaten record through seven games. After taking down Sanford-Fritch in its district opener, Panhandle dominated a solid West Texas High squad on Friday night to move to 2-0 in District 1-2A Division I play.
Robinson was remarkable in the victory, making plays on offense and defense while leading the Panthers to a 69-12 win over a Comanches’ team that came into the matchup with a 5-1 regular season record and a 1-0 mark in district competition.
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Through the air
Against West Texas on Friday night, Robinson completed nine of his 14 pass attempts for 157 yards and two touchdowns.
Ashley’s offense beat the Comanches with short pass plays, constantly finding receivers open on shallow and intermediate routes. Despite West Texas scheming to try and stop Robinson from hitting big plays in the pass game, the standout signal caller was able to connect on a few deep shots.
Even on a night when Robinson wasn’t relentlessly attacking defenders downfield, the junior quarterback made smart decisions and delivered accurate passes to the right spots, giving his receivers the ability to make plays after the catch.
“They were playing two-high, so they weren’t going to let us throw it deep,” Robinson said after the game. “So, we had to take what we had to and just, throw the short routes and just take what they give us.”
On the ground
Even with a strong showing through the air, Robinson had a better performance on the ground, carrying the ball 18 times for 235 yards and three touchdowns.
Each of the third-year quarterback’s rushing scores came in the third quarter, as the Panthers not only secured a victory, but blew the game wide open. The Comanches trailed by two scores coming out of halftime, but an 8-yard run from Robinson started an avalanche of rushing touchdowns in the second half for Panhandle.
Robinson ran in a 24-yard score and a 39-yard score before the third quarter was over, and senior running back Rush Walterscheid added two fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns to put the game away. Robinson’s speed, vision and decisiveness helped the Panthers’ star dominate on the ground against West Texas, leading an impressive ground attack that could help propel Panhandle deep into the postseason.
Robinson ran for more than 110 yards in the first half, ripping off big gains to help move the chains and put the Panthers in scoring position early in the game.
Robinson’s dual-threat ability is one of the similarities between himself and Hack, who racked up 1,520 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns as a senior at Panhandle.
“I really do (see similarities between Robinson and Hack),” Ashley said. “Broxton is starting to come on as a thrower, but, tremendous runners, very cerebral. Very smart guys, they understand the football game and Broxton has really grown in that aspect. Guys like that are super fun to coach.”
On defense
To go along with a stellar performance on offense, Robinson also helped the Panthers’ defense stifle a strong West Texas offense.
In the first quarter, Robinson notched the game’s first interception, setting himself and the rest of Ashley’s offense up with a short field. This was one of four interceptions Panhandle came away with on Friday night, not including an interception on one of the Comanches’ two-point conversion attempts.
Despite racking up more than 390 yards on offense, the Panthers’ quarterback still had the energy and enough talent to play defense for his team.
“I’ve always been a defensive guy,” Robinson said. “Ever since I was like, in third grade, I’ve played defense and then quarterback at the same time. Basically the quarterback on both sides of the field. So, it’s kind of awesome to play both sides of the field.”
Robinson’s strong play on defense helped the Panthers limit what had been a productive Comanches offense to 12 points on Friday night. West Texas had scored at least 40 points in each of its last three games, but struggled to find any offensive consistency against Panhandle.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Panhandle football’s Broxton Robinson continuing Panthers’ QB lineage
