Stripped of his chance to get on the field, Lafayette’s Matt Robertson still found a way to get involved at the City Football Jamboree.

The Fighting Irish senior and teammate Dan Wilkinson did their best assistant coach impressions at Spratt Stadium — barking out encouragement while roaming the sidelines, binders and play sheets in hand.

In the last week of his yearlong transfer suspension, Robertson chomped at the bit all night long and will be eligible to suit up for next week’s opener against Kansas City Central.

“I’m not happy if I’m standing around, and I was excited I got to do something tonight,” Robertson said. “I’m a dog on a leash right now. I can’t wait for Friday.”

Wilkinson, meanwhile, didn’t see the field because of a minor hamstring pull that shouldn’t limit him from regular-season action. His absence allowed a slew of Lafayette wideouts to get involved, however, as five Irish receivers caught at least one pass.

“We wanted to get some young guys some snaps just to see them,” Lafayette coach Paul Woolard said. “I liked the big play potential we had tonight ... but I’ll be really glad to have those two back for next week.”

Central also was missing a few key contributors — especially at linebacker.

Projected starters Alex Ray (sophomore, separated shoulder) and Tanner Collins (junior, fractured collarbone) both sat out the event, which allowed a pair of backups to gain valuable time.

C.J. Mollus and Jake Bolin both played significant minutes and helped hold two of the three city rivals scoreless.

“That’s the best teacher out there,” Central coach Tony Dudik said, gesturing to the FieldTurf. “That’s the only place they’re going to learn is on the field.”

On the other hand, junior Evan Brown — a transfer from Stewartsville — got in a few snaps on the defensive line after the Missouri State High School Activities Association approved his paper work earlier in the day.

Brotherly backfield

Central running back Malkaam Muhammad didn’t let his older brother have all the fun.

The sophomore rolled up 63 total yards on just four touches — including a 15-yard receiving touchdown on a tackle-breaking shovel pass from Ryan Wallace against Lafayette. He also roamed the field as a starting linebacker and was in on a handful of tackles.

But his older brother and backfield mate, Ghaali, said he’ll make sure the successful showing doesn’t go to his head.

“Whenever he does something wrong, I’ll see him at home, and I can yell at him and show him how to do it right,” Ghaali Muhammad said.

“It’s just fun playing with him. I enjoy it a lot.”

Malkaam’s 48 yards rushing was second on the team behind Ghaali’s 129.

Tabor’s trickery

While most teams displayed offense of the vanilla variety, Benton coach Matt Tabor dug into his bag of tricks a few times with high degrees of success.

During the second quarter against Bishop LeBlond, the Cardinals executed a “Statue of Liberty” play that resulted in a touchdown. In the final quarter, a hook and ladder went for a first down against Central.

Benton’s third act of trickery also came against the Indians. After taking a pitch, Chris Puett faked a reverse to Chris Michaels but kept the ball himself and scooted into the end zone for the Cardinals’ first of two scores.

A power running game should fuel most of Benton’s success, but Midland Empire Conference opponents would do well not to discount Tabor’s sneaky — and often well-timed — play-calling abilities.

Bryston breaks one off

Of all the impressive plays at the jamboree, Lafayette senior Bryston Williams may have turned in the most electrifying one.

During the Irish’s initial drive against LeBlond, Williams followed Tim Nelson around the left side and looked to be bottled up — disappearing into a tangle of bodies. With a nifty display of footwork, the senior emerged, burst to his right and sidestepped a pair of would-be tacklers — who practically looked like they were standing still — for a 32-yard rushing score.

It goes without saying that Williams has tremendous play-making ability. But every once in awhile, he shows he is capable of playing at a ridiculously high level and displaying a combination of speed and agility that is rarely seen on the high school level.

What’d you think?

With all four 11-man schools back in the field, the new format appeared to draw one of the largest crowds in recent memory — thanks to a boost from some noisy student sections.

Both myself and prep writer extraordinaire Ross Martin thought the action at both ends of the field provided plenty of action to watch and helped the event clip along at a much better pace than previous years.

Did you like the new jamboree style, or did you care for the previous format? Let us know. Comment at the bottom of the page.

Sports reporter Andy Meyer can be reached at andymeyer@npgco.com