The best player on the best team in the section, Robinson emerged from the shadow of former greats before him this season, as an impact player on both sides of the ball, despite a nagging injury or two during the middle of the year.

Offensively, Robinson finished the season with 2,012 yards and 25 touchdowns on the ground, and added another 211 receiving yards and a score out of the backfield. Predictably, his biggest games came against the Spartans’ best opponents.

In a 45-17 win over previously unbeaten Monte Vista, Robinson ran for 265 yards and four touchdowns. Two weeks earlier, he ran for 223 yards and three scores in a win over California, and in a back-and-forth game with Antioch, the junior ran for 305 yards and three touchdowns to carry his team to victory.

Even in the state final loss to Bosco, Robinson could hardly be denied, carrying the ball 18 times for 179 yards and two scores, despite battling back spasms throughout the game.

“He’s a complete back,” said De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh. “For a long time, he was our horse, all we had for a while.”

Defensively, Robinson was a force at safety, especially in run support. The hard-hitter displayed a nose for the ball and was quick with his reads, enabling the Spartans to use him when needed on both sides of the ball.

Robinson is not only the Prep2Prep NCS Junior of the Year, but also an early candidate for next year’s overall Player of the Year watch.

Other players considered for this award: Rancho Cotate’s Jake Simmons, Pittsburg’s A’jae Boyd, and Freedom’s Baylei Coston.