WARNER ROBINS — McConnell-Talbert Stadium continues to be a house of horrors for Ware County’s football team.
Homestanding Warner Robins scored two late touchdowns Friday night to overcome a 10-point deficit and claim a 48-44 victory in a Region 1AAAA shootout. The Gators (7-2 overall, 2-2 region) led 44-34 with 7:16 left in the game only to see the Demons (5-4, 2-2) score twice in a span of two minutes, 26 seconds to keep the visitors winless in four trips to McConnell-Talbert.
Ware County, which entered the game ranked fifth in the state in AAAA, still had a chance after Warner Robins’ last score with 1:36 left in the game. But after moving from its own 10 for a first down at the Demons 16, the Gators came up two yards short on a fourth down play.
The last time the two met here in 2023, the Demons kicked a 42-yard field goal as time expired for a 23-21 victory in the second round of the GHSA Class AAAAA playoffs.
The kick capped a fiveplay, 55-yard drive in the game’s final 62 seconds after the defending state champion Gators had driven 80 yards in nine plays to take a 21-20 lead on a touchdown and the ensuing extra point.
Friday’s meeting was a wild, see-saw game from the opening kickoff that Dontay Stubbs returned 99 yards for a Warner Robins touchdown. The teams combined for 856 yards and 41 first downs.
The Demons had 488 of the total yards with quarterback Lakevious Bryant collecting 291 of that on 17-for-26 passing with two touchdowns. Nine of the passes were caught by X’Zavier Cannon for 190 yards and one of the touchdowns.
Cannon, a sophomore speedster, also ran for two scores. Jaden Hill, another sophomore, Stubbs and Bryant also had rushing touchdowns.
Ware County quarterback Isaiah White passed for a season-high 230 yards going 15-of-26. He also added a four-yard rushing touchdown.
YARDSTIICK
Ware County 14 14 3 13 - 44 Warner Robins 14 13 7 14 - 48 SCORING SUMMARY First Quarter WR - Dontay Stubbs 99 kickoff return (Jabez Htoo), 11:47 WCHS - Markell Conaway 74 fumble return (Jeffrey Gonzalez kick) WCHS - Isaiah White 4 run (Gonzalez kick), 4:23
WR - X'Zavier Cannon 2 run (Htoo kick), 1:24
Second Quarter WR - Cannon 4 run (Htoo kick), 8:16 WCHS - Tayshaun Franklin 2 run (Gonzalez kick), 4:04 WR - Peyton Zitterman 39 pass from Lakevious Bryant (kick failed), 1:25 WCHS - Franklin 2 run (Gonzalez kick), :24 Third Quarter WCHS - Gonzalez 49 field goal WR - Jaden Hill 1 run (Htoo kick), 5:35 Fourth Quarter WCHS - Gonzalez 49 field goal, 11:57 WCHS - Davion Jones 59 punt return (Gonzalez kick), 10:26 WCHS - Gonzalez 37 field goal, 7:16 WR - Cannon 34 pass from Bryant (Htoo kick), 4:02 WR - Stubbs 7 run (Htoo kick), 1:36 WCHS WR First downs 20 19 Rushes-yards 31-138 39-197 Passing yards 230 291 Total yards 368 488 Comp-Att-Int 15-26-0 17-26-0 Punts-Avg 4-40.8 4-30.5 Fumbles-lost 1-1 2-2 Penalties 13-119 12-150 3rd Down Con. 4-of-13 9-of-16 4th Down Con. 1-of-2 3-of-3 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING – WCHS: Boyd 11-65, Franklin 16-58, White 4-15 WR: Bryant 9-67, Shine 15-58, Hill 726, Goings 2-24, Stubbs 4-16, Cannon 2-6.
PASSING – WCHS: White 15-26-0, 230. WR: Bryant 17-26-0, 291. RECEIVING — WCHS: O’Hara 6115, Rice 7-99, Fore 1-8, Mc-Daniel 1-8. WR: Cannon 9-190, Goings 3-45, Zitterman 1-39, Stubbs 3-19, Brown 1-7.
The Gators’ Markell Conaway (9) eyes a loose ball Warner Robins’ quarterback Lakevious Bryant (15) tries to locate as WCHS’s Rodricus Lewis (77) closes in. Conaway returned the fumble 74 yards for a game-tying touchdown in the first quarter. Photo By BO CARTER
Tayshaun Franklin ran for two touchdowns while Jeffrey Gonzalez kicked three field goals and five extra points. The Gators also got touchdowns from their defense and special teams.
Markell Conaway returned a fumble 74 yards for a score while Davion Jones returned a punt 59 yards for another.
The game, however, was marred by 269 yards in penalties. Of the 27 total infractions, 11 were major (15 yards) flags, a handful of them helping the teams to points.
The combination of points and penalties led to a game that lasted nearly three hours, 45 minutes.
After Stubbs put the Demons on top with his kick return, Conaway got the visitors even with his return. Rodricus Lewis stripped the ball from running back Darius Shine, and Conaway pulled the ball out of the air and ran untouched for the score tying the game at 7-apiece.
After forcing a punt, White ended a nine-play, 53-yard drive with his rushing TD with 4:23 left in the period for a 14-7 advantage. The Demons responded with a sevenplay, 63-yard possession that Cannon capped with a two-yard run with 1:24 left in the quarter to even the score at 14-apiece.
Each team scored twice in the second period as well, with the Gators holding a 28-27 halftime edge thanks to kicker Jabez Htoo missing a conversion after the second Demons touchdown of the quarter.
Bryant put Warner Robins ahead 21-14 with 8:16 left in the half on a six-yard run to end a 13-play, 80yard march, kept alive by two fourth down conversions.
Ware tied it at 21-all on a fouryard run by Franklin and the Gonzalez extra point just more than four minutes later.
Less than three minutes later, the Demons were back on top at 27-21 on a 39-yard pass from Bryant to tight end Peyton Zitterman with 1:25 left in the quarter.
The Gators needed just 1:01 to take the retake the lead before intermission after starting the possession at the Demons 45 following a good kickoff return by LaTarrian Hayes. Franklin scored on a two-yard run with 24 seconds left, and Gonzalez added the conversion for the 28-27 lead.
Ware County stretched the lead to 31-27 on a 49-yard field goal by Gonzalez after the possession with the second half kickoff stalled at the Warner Robins’ 32.
The Demons converted a Ware County fumble into a touchdown with 5:35 left in the period. Hill scored from a yard and Htoo was good with this kick for a 34-31 lead.
It stayed that way until the first play of the fourth period when Gonzalez kicked a 23-yard field goal to cap a six-play, 65-yard drive tying the game at 34-apiece.
Ware County forced a punt on the Demons ensuing possession, and Jones returned it for a score with another Gonzalez conversion making it 41-34 with 10:26 left in the game.
Lewis then recovered another fumble that LoJuan Blue stripped away from Shine at the Warner Robins 46. The Gators had to settle for a 37-yard field goal by Gonzalez for a 44-34 lead with 7:16 left.
Bryant then drove the Demons 80 yards in 11 plays with a 34-yard pass to Cannon ending the possession. Htoo’s conversion made it 44-41 with 4:02 to play.
Ware County was unable to get a first down, punting the ball back to the Demons with 2:16 left.
Warner Robins took over at its 27 after a 46-yard punt by Gonzalez. The Demons quickly advanced on a pass interference and roughing the passer penalty on the first two snaps. The first penalty negated an interception by Zahi Solomon.
Two plays later, the Gators were hit with a horse collar tackle infraction after an 11-yard run by Hill giving the Demons first down at the Ware County seven. Stubbs scored from there with 1:36 left.
Ware’s bid to rally was helped by a personal foul penalty after a 35yard pass from White to Ja’Londi O’Hara that led to a first down at the Demons’ 40. On third-and-four from the 34, White hit Ja’Mario Rice for 18 yards to keep the Gators hopes alive.
However, on fourth down from the 16 with eight seconds on the clock, an attempt at a hook-and-lateral play between Gunter Fore and Franklin was stopped two yards short of a first down.
