Ware County returns to the friendly confines of Memorial Stadium Friday night to host Region 1-AAAAA foe Jenkins of Savannah on Senior Night.
Both the Gators (5-2 overall, 4-0 region) and Warriors (3-4, 3-1) were part of the bye week for Region 1. Ware County beat Evans 28-6 on the road stretching its winning streak to four games while Jenkins fell 37-35 to sixth-ranked Benedictine ending a three-game winning streak.
“We had a really good week of practice,” said head coach Jason Strickland in reference to last week. “After starting to feel better with us putting some wins together, I’m a little nervous about having a week off. We brought the players in at 9 a.m., for meetings each day and fed them. We practiced from 10 (a.m.) until about noon each day.
“We’re starting to get healthy again, but had to battle the flu ahead of the Evans game and then we had a lot of players who missed some practice time last week with the flu. I think we’re hopefully past that.”
Ware County and the Warriors have faced three common opponents with the same results. Both teams lost a nonregion matchup to Richmond Hill in their third games of the season with the Gators falling 13-7 and Jenkins suffering a 31-27 setback.
Both steamrolled region foe Groves with WCHS posting a 68-6 victory and the Warriors winning 51-0. Each team copped a victory over Evans with Ware County notching a 28-6 decision and the Warriors picking up a 35-14 win.
The Gators and Jenkins are meeting for just the fifth time. Ware County has won each of the four previous meetings against the Warriors by an average of 38.8 points while scoring 50.3 points per game.
The Gators won 49-6 at home in 2012, 54-26 on the road as the ninth-ranked team in 2013, 42-14 at home when ranked No. 1 in 2022, and 56-0 on the road while ranked sixth in 2023.
“Jenkins is crazy athletic,” said Strickland. “They (Warriors) have some dynamic players on both sides of the ball and their kick and punt return teams are special. It seems like they’ve had touchdown returns in every game.”
The Warriors, under the direction of sixth-year head coach Tony Welch (75-86 overall, 3730 at Jenkins), are coming off an 11-2 record in 2025 and a Region 3-AAA title.
Jenkins runs some wing-T and spread in its offensive scheme.
“Tony Welch is one of the best coaches in the state with what he does with what little resources he gets,” said Strickland.
Sophomore Benari Mells-Williams (5-foot-7, 168 lbs.) and senior Torean Wilson (5-9, 160) orchestrate the groundoriented offense. The pair have combined to complete 32-of-55 passes for 523 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Wilson is more of a dualthreat having rushed for 358 yards (third-highest on team) and four touchdowns. He also lines up out as a receiver and has three catches for 68 yards.
Junior Tasean Rhodes gets most of the carries (10 per game). He leads the team with 431 yards, has one 100-yard rushing game and three touchdowns. Rhodes has nine catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns.
He’s returned three kickoffs for touchdowns and has a punt return for a score. He also has three interceptions from his linebacker position.
“He’s probably their singlebest player,” Strickland said. “He also plays linebacker on defense and is dangerous returning punts and kicks.”
Senior Jaylon Elliott (6-foot, 165), who lines up in the backfield and out wide as a receiver, has accumulated 400 yards with a tea-leading six touchdowns and team-high two 100yard rushing nights.
“Elliott is an athlete who lines up everywhere,” Strickland said.
Sophomore Alex Ellison has rushed for 142 yards and two scores on 15 carries. He also has a 100-yard rushing night.
“Their (Warriors) speed is a big concern,” said Strickland. “They are also more athletic than we are. We’ve got to get hats to the ball because they force defenses into a lot of 1-on-1 coverages.”
On the defensive side of the ball, Strickland said Jenkins will play with seven players in the box and mix up its fronts. The Warriors also utilize a matchup zone in the secondary.
“We’re going into the game prepared to throw the ball more than we have been,” said Strickland. “We may have to throw the ball in the mid-20s trying to get them out of the box. The key is we’ve got to catch the ball and make plays to stay out secondand third-and-long situations.”
Junior Lorenzo Famble (6-3, 315) anchors the defensive front playing nose in the three-man alignment and tackle in the even front. Senior outside linebacker Brandon Brown (6-1, 195) leads the team in tackles with 61 and is tied for the teamlead in tackles for loss with nine.
Senior safety Azikiwe Pope (6-foot, 180) is second with 47 tackles and five TFLs. Pope has a quarterback sack.
Junior linebacker Kaycee Holt (5-10, 180) is third in tackles with 45 to go along with six TFLs. Holt has one sack, two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
Special teams play is going to be huge for the Gators, according to Strickland.
“They’ve (Warriors) got three guys we can’t kick the ball to,” the veteran coach said. “We’ve got to have Gonzo (Jefferey Gonzalez) kick the ball into the endzone. We must keep our lane integrity, though, because they are dangerous.
“They have a dynamic kicker, which has typically been a weak link. They do a great job of covering kicks as well. The punting game is really their weakness.
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