South St. Paul was facing 3rd and 21 from the North St. Paul 30-yard line, clinging to a 1-point lead with just over 2 minutes left to play in regulation.

There really is no play call for such a situation, but the Packers opted for a pitch right to junior tailback Nasir Robinson.

Packers coach Manuel Spreigl figured maybe the team could get into an even better spot for kicker Alida Ahern, or perhaps even get enough yardage to consider taking a shot on 4th down.

Even Robinson had no expectation of busting a big play — until he took his first few steps.

“Two yards in, I saw it open,” Robinson said. “I just saw my hole, and I took it. They were great blocks, they lined up perfectly to take me to the sidelines. I had to cut back a little bit, but we got it, I got it there.”

He ran 30 yards for a touchdown to put the Packers up 34-26. North St. Paul moved the ball across midfield on its ensuing drive, but the clock eventually expired as a desperation heave devolved into a quarterback scramble and South St. Paul hung on for the 8-point home victory to gain a key section seeding resume booster on a night where the Packers probably didn’t play their best football.

“We talk a lot about how life is full of ups and downs,” Spreigl said. “School is full of ups and downs. You can’t get rattled. In high school sports, the more consistent team is usually going to be the team that wins. … You have to stay grounded when things don’t go your way. And we certainly had a lot of things not go our way in the second half.”

Certainly not. South St. Paul built a 27-8 lead in the third quarter, when Ahern — who is developing into a legitimate weapon for the Packers — buried her second field goal of the evening, a 34-yarder to go with her 42-yarder from the first half.

But from there it was seemingly all North St. Paul (2-2). Polars quarterback Elijah Adzimahe threw the ball 45 times Friday for 322 yards and four touchdowns. The final three of those scores went the way of receiver John Jeanetta.

In the span of 90 seconds midway through the fourth quarter, Adzimahe and Jeanetta connected for scoring strikes of 73 and 54 yards to get the Polars back into the game. The 2-point tries on each attempt failed, though, keeping the Packers in front.

South St. Paul (2-2) was turnover prone Friday, with three lost fumbles. But the Packers built their advantage on the ground, and that’s where they also managed to put the game away. Robinson led the charge on that front, toting the ball nine times for 147 yards and a pair of touchdowns. That type of efficiency would typically lead to more volume. But he was battling an oblique injury in the second half.

Still, when push came to shove, he knew he needed to be out on the field — particularly with the contest in the balance. Ahead of that 3rd-and-21 pitch play, Robinson thought to himself, “This is the play that decides the game.”

And he decided

“I definitely had to put it in my head to make a play,” he said.

And that’s what he did.

“He’s capable of a lot,” Spreigl said of the back. “And he’s done such a nice job of growing up and staying grounded.”

Robinson noted after the game that oblique injury still burned. But he had an added motivation to push through the pain Friday. It was Tackle Cancer Night at South St. Paul, and Robinson continuously thought of his grandmother, who fought and beat cancer, as his motivation.

“So,” he said, “it was a special night.”