Ninth-ranked Ware County wraps up a murderous Region 1-AAAA threegame stretch with Warner Robins visiting Friday night.
The Gators (3-4 overall, 1-1 region) dropped three spots in Sunday’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution release of its Top 10 poll after falling 31-21 at Perry. The victory by the Panthers (6-2, 3-0) propelled the defending Class 4A champions into the No. 8 position in the poll. Warner Robins (6-2, 2-1) exited the rankings following a 34-22 victory against New Hampstead in Pooler. The Demons were replaced by Perry.
The two losses Warner Robins has suffered came against Class 5A secondranked Lee County (8-0; 45-28) in the season opener and to current 10thranked Benedictine (4-3, 2-1; 35-21) October 4 ending a five-game winning streak.
Friday’s Memorial Stadium matchup is the seventh in the series between the two schools with Warner Robins holding a 4-2 lead.
Four of the meetings have come in the post-season with the Demons winning three times. Ware County’s lone playoff win was a 38-13 demolition in the 2022 Class 5A championship game.
This is the first meeting not having both teams ranked with Warner Robins falling out of the Top 10.
“They (Demons) are as dynamic as always,” said Ware County head coach Jason Strickland. “We can’t get off to a slow start and fall behind 14-0 like we have the last two weeks. The biggest thing for us is finding guys to put on the grass. We are really beat up and we’re thin on the depth chart.”
The Gators could be missing as many as four starters on the offensive side of the ball and at least two on the defensive side.
“Our injury report is rough,” said Strickland. “We need our backup players to step up. We’re thin in a couple of the areas where we have the injuries.”
Warner Robins brings in a high-powered offense averaging 36.3 points per game with senior Skyler Williams (6-foot-3, 215 lbs.) at the controls of the spread attack. He gives the escapability factor from the pocket.
“It’s the same Warner Robins with an electric and more dynamic quarterback back there,” Strickland said of the Demons’ offensive attack. “They’ve (coaches) added the quarterback run into the mix, play at a good pace, get wide splits along the line and force you to play man coverage in the secondary.
“They are going to run the zone read and RPO (run/pass option). Their (Demons) skill players are impressive.”
The list of skill players includes seniors Nicholas Linder (5-11, 165), Ezra Goings (6-3, 185), Rasean Dinkins and Daymond Batts (6-2, 210).
“We did not do a good job of tackling in space and gave up big plays,” said Strickland referencing the Perry game. “That’s what their (Demons) wide receivers prey on. Can we tackle in space? That really is the bottom line. We have to tackle in space and limit the big plays.”
The Demons’ defense has not been as dominating as years past allowing 21 points a game this year. Four teams have scored 22 points or better with Lee County and Houston County each scoring 44 points or better.
“It’s a versatile defense,” said Strickland. “They (Demons) are playing more odd front than even, but they still get after it.”
One player is drawing the attention of all opposing coaches. Senior defensive end Isaiah Gibson (6-5, 245), a University of Georgia commit, also had hard offers from Ohio State, Tennessee, Auburn, Alabama and South Carolina among his list of Power 4 schools.
“He is one of the best players in the country,” Strickland said of Gibson. “He makes plays all over the field.
“We’ve got to be more blended with the run game and passing game. We ran the ball about 50 times against Benedictine and threw the ball 42 times against Perry when they (Panthers) forced us to be one-dimensional.
“The circumstances were different in those two games. We want to establish the run and throw the ball when we want. We want to control the line scrimmage.”
