The Warner Robins Demons remain undefeated following their 50-40 victory at Locust Grove High School on Friday but do not let the final score fool you, The Demons got all they could handle from a very good Wildcats team. This game could not have started any better for the Demons, a team looking to get back to the 5A finals, and worse for the Wildcats, 1-0 after defeating Jackson High School at home 42-6 last week.
With less than a minute remaining in the game and the Demons ahead by 10 there was still a slight doubt in the air that they would be leaving with a victory. That was not the case nearly six minutes earlier when Demons head coach Mike Chastain made the decision to take senior quarterback Dylan Fromm out of the game after having passed for more than 300 yards and thrown five touchdown passes. His second consecutive game having done the later. In came sophomore backup quarterback Jalen Addie and what many should have thought an easy win. Oh but it was just that easy.
Two minutes into the game the Demons were celebrating a Fromm to Marcayll Jones 59-yard touchdown connection. With senior receiver and Auburn University commit Tyler Fromm for the foreseeable future with an injury Jones has stepped into the lead receiver role and flourished. The junior would end this game with two touchdown receptions and a highlight package worth of grabs throughout the game. Warner Robins would be up 13-0 a possession later following a fumble recovery deep in Locust Grove territory by senior linebacker Christian Anderson (he had two fumble recoveries, an interception and a touchdown Friday night) and another Fromm touchdown pass, this time to junior Devin Brown.
Locust Grove would find the end zone at the start of the second quarter, ending a long drive with a touchdown pass to junior tight end Billy Ward from senior quarterback R.J. McDaniels, Jr. The two would connect again during the third quarter and by the end of the game there would be no questioning why Ward is a top college football prospect. At 6-4, 225 with the speed and hands of a top-notch receiver he will most certainly be playing football on Saturdays if he so chooses.
The Demons put up 20 more points during the second quarter to go ahead 33-13 at half time. Fromm found junior Ty’larrious Carr in the red zone for his third first half touchdown pass, Jones would catch a 22 yard strike from Fromm, making it four first half touchdown passes and sophomore Jahlen Rutherford, already a reliable back and offensive weapon for Chastain’s high-powered offense, scored the first of his four touchdowns of the night with 1:16 remaining in the first half. Game over, right? Wrong.
McDaniels, Jr. found Ward again with 42 seconds on the game clock and despite the Wildcats being down by 20 with just a half of football to play the momentum had quietly swung in their favor. Then the penalties came.
Warner Robins’ defense was penalized just two times during the first half. They would be penalized for everything from false starts to pass interference 10 times during the second half and, whether right or wrong, Locust Grove took full advantage of that misfortune.
Behind 40-13 following a Rutherford touchdown catch that was set up by a 15-yard out-route by senior tight end Jamarcus Tharpe, the Wildcats went on a 13-10 run for the remainder of the game, including another Ward touchdown reception off of a McDaniel, Jr. corner fade pass. In the senior quarterback dual it is safe to say that it was a draw with a slight edge to Fromm because of McDaniel’s two crucial first half fumbles and his third quarter interception that resulted in a Warner Robins touchdown, also crucial.
Addie fumbled late in the game and the Wildcats secondary played a lot tougher defense during the fourth quarter, the same could be said for their defensive line. Those kudos belong to Locust Grove for certain. The amount of penalties on Warner Robins, particularly during the third quarter that saw Locust Grove made a serious push for a comeback, cannot be ignored.
Following the three hour, 45 minute game Chastain said, “I’m very proud of our guys for battling all night. We have a really good ball club that is very close.”
Very close and very good. The Demons are undefeated heading into a week three meeting at Baldwin High School (Milledgeville) next Friday, but not without a bit of drama. And penalties. Don’t forget the penalties.
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