GAME OF THE WEEK: Houston County and Warner Robins seek to give each other first county loss in rivalry at the MAC

Only Houston County and Warner Robins remain undefeated when it comes to county opponents, and that will change when the two meet on Friday in another rivalry game at McConnell-Talbert Stadium.

The Demons went on to win the county title after beating HoCo in last year’s fight at Freedom Field; The winner of this year’s rivalry will look to do the same.

Here are some things to watch:

Getting through the second level

Warner Robins’ offense has gotten going through the ground game in the last couple of weeks, but they’ll face one of their toughest tests when the Bears come across town.

HoCo is led by a four-headed monster at linebacker with Westen Ard (UConn commit), Jase Jordan (Samford commit), Kam Brown (Liberty commit) and Zion Paul, who is drawing some college attention.

When it comes to finding the play, plugging lanes and hitting hard downhill you’ll be hard pressed to find a better unit in the state of Georgia.

The group has combined for 87 tackles, 18 TFLs and 9 sacks through three games this season.

Paul and Brown are the main ones to watch out for when it comes to getting after the quarterback. Paul leads the team with six TFLs to go with two sacks, while Brown has five TFLs and three sacks.

Jordan started the year off with an astounding 19-tackle performance against Brookwood and has found himself in big plays since.

Then there’s Ard who mans the middle and is a big threat with his size and strength. He has the power to bull rush tackles and stop runners in their tracks, and is laser focused on the play and reading the quarterback.

HoCo won’t have a cakewalk with AJ Alexander and CJ Gunnings, the two backs who have separated themselves.

Alexander is a bruiser to say the very least. Out of every back in the county he might be the most physical and will drag defenders through the mud for extra yards.

Gunnings is more agile than Alexander, but still provides the physicality that allows him to get an extra yard or two through contact.

The Demons’ passing offense hasn’t taken off, so the rush attack will be as important as ever in this matchup.

Protect the signal caller

HoCo quarterback Ryan Maxwell has looked more poised than your average sophomore starting for the first time, but he’ll be tested by a Demons defensive line that has gotten after every quarterback they’ve seen thus far.

Lee County’s Marcus Snipes Jr, all three of Fayette County’s quarterbacks and Northside’s JD Garman were all routinely flushed out of the pocket and forced to make decisions on the run.

Garman gave them the most trouble with his legs, though Maxwell doesn’t pose that same threat.

Quincy Davis has been a consistent presence off of the edge and really lit up Northside’s offensive line in the fourth quarter.

He’s 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds with an explosive get off and can skate past tackles.

Nose guard Daeveon Dixon has brought a plenty of physicality to the defensive line, too. He gets into the chest of his opponents and gets them on their back feet before making the next play.

Maxwell has only been sacked a few times this season, but this might be the best front his line has faced yet.

Breaking the split

The first 23 years of this series were overwhelmingly in favor of Warner Robins, but Jeremy Edwards’ arrival at HoCo has made that more interesting.

It still hasn’t changed the overall standings much, but Edwards is currently 2-1 against the Demons and 1-1 against Sams after last year’s game at Freedom Field.

The general air around the 2024 contest was that HoCo expected another big win like their 41-7 thrashing of Warner Robins in 2023. Antwann Hill Jr threw for three touchdowns and Ricky Johnson pulled down all three of those with his seven receptions and 115 yards.

But last year’s game was an intense 54-44 thriller as the Demons marched in, limited Isaiah Mitchell and had Skyler Williams go for 288 yards and four touchdowns.

HoCo knows who they are and have been battle tested early. Warner Robins is trying to hit their stride after two straight wins. But both teams will look to take home bragging rights and potentially a county title on Friday night at the MAC.