Ware County’s lofting ranking of No. 5 will be on the line with the Gators visiting Warner Robins in a key Region 1AAAA battle Friday night.
Head coach Jason Strickland’s squad sits second in the reg ion standi ngs at 2-1 and 7-1 overall after beating defending region champion Perry (4-4, 2-1) 2114 at home. Fourthranked Benedictine has an unblemished 3-0 record.
Warner Robins (4-4, 12) is facing a do or die situation with two games remaining against the Gators and at Perry. The Demons 14-year streak of post-season play is on the line.
“They (Demons) are looking at the playoffs and need to win,” said Ware County head coach Jason Strickland. “You can’t focus on their record. They’ve had a ton of injuries this year. They’ve lost running backs and linebackers and secondary guys. I mean, just a ton of injuries.
“It’s just kind of crippled them. But if you look, those bodies they have still look the part. They have a big offensive line that is very physical and the quarterback is a good player. The people in the uniforms look the part.
“Maybe some guys had to play some different positions, or maybe some younger guys are having to play. We’ve got to expect we will get a great effort from those guys.”
Friday’s matchup at McConnell-Talbert Stadium in Warner Robins is the eighth between the two schools and fourth time the Demons have hosted. Three of Warner Robins’ four wins in the series (Demons lead 4-3) have come inside McConnell-Talbert Stadium.
Ware County and Warner Robins share two common foes - both from the region. Each lost to Benedictine with the Gators falling 30-27 and the Demons suffering their worst loss ever in a 61-0 defeat.
Both own wins over New Hampstead with Ware County rolling 5719 in Pooler and Warner Robins escaping 34-26 at home.
Offensively, the Demons operate at a high speed despite the injuries. Their high-point for the season is 53 points against Fayette County. They’ve only surpassed 30 points one other time and that was against the Phoenix.
Meanwhile, Ware County has held six of eight foes below 20 points and is surrendering 15.9 points per game.
“They (Demons) like play with a lot of tempo,” said Strickland. “They play a lot of 11 or 12 (one back or one or two tight ends) personnel for their run game stuff. They like the power counter inside zone and do a ton of RPO (run/pass option) stuff.
“You have to match hats in the box. And when you do that, you’re going to put yourself in one-on-one coverage on the outside. They’ve got some guys who can run as they always do and that’s the scary thing, “Can we control the run game and still leave some bodies out of the box so we can help protect our secondary guys? That’s the question we’re facing.”
Ware County faced a similar scheme last week against Perry.
“We (coaches) thought Perry would throw the ball a lot more than what they did. Schematically, we have an understanding. Perry has a ton of formations and motions and shifts, whereas when Warner Robins gets in a formation it’s lining up as fast as they can snap the ball.
“Seeing that stuff last week, really the last two weeks, including the bye week. our guys understand the RPO game.”
Strickland compared the Warner Robins’ offense to that of Art Briles when he coached at Baylor and the way his offense attacked enemy defenses.
“We’ve got to win those one-onone battles on the outside because they’re going to take shots,” said Strickland. “We’ve got to limit those big shot plays. We’re going to have to really, really, really play the deep ball well.”
The Warner Robins defense is allowing 30.2 points per game in its matchup with an offense generating 38.1 points per Friday night.
“They (Demons) play of mix of odd and even fronts,” Strickland. “They are going to put seven in the box and play man-to-man coverage in the secondary. Their two corners and two safeties are going to be in man coverage all night.
“We’re gonna have to be able to throw it because of the defensive box we’re going to see. I feel comfortable with Ja’Mario (Rice), Ja’Londi (O’Hara) and LeTTarrian (Hayes) and all three playing well. We’re still going to need to be able to run the football against this crowd.”
Getting the running game going with Jamir Boyd and Tayshaun Franklin will help Ware County control the tempo and keep the Warner Robins offense on the sideline.
“That’s what we (coaches) want to do is slow the pace down,” said Strickland referencing the run game. “If we’re breaking big plays then obviously we’re not slowing the game down. We’ve got two really good backs and we’ve got a really, really good offensive line. I think this is going to be a game that they need to really play well.”
Strickland believes Ware County will have an advantage in special teams play.
“Coach Brandon Evans does an incredible job and he’s got those guys motivated,” said Strickland. “They get excited every time there’s a play to be made.”
Strickland referenced the punt return skills of Davion Jones, who made his first appearance as the returner against Perry.
“He made three really, really good plays last Friday,” Strickland said.
The veteran coach believes his team is as healthy as expected at this time of the year. The lone exception is Jah Evans, who is battling a leg injury.
