HHJ 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW: WR Demons not recognizing the high expectations

The Warner Robins High School Demons will have a

world of expectations on them coming into the 2018 season and their

season-opener against the Tift County High School Blue Devils on Aug. 17. With

all due respect, the expectations of a return visit to the 5A state title game

and another shot at a title can be fully understood. The Demons are loaded and

most certainly look the part of a state championship team. “We really don’t

talk a whole lot about expectations, we concentrate on getting better every

day,” said Warner Robins head football coach and athletic director Mike

Chastain. “Everything will work itself out.”

Part of getting better everyday this off-season has

been in the weight room. The Demons got a major facelift to their weight

facility this summer and the results according to Chastain have been positive.

“Obviously we don’t have pads on a whole lot, so a lot of time in the summer

you’re working on getting stronger, getting in shape, learning the offense and

defense,” says Chastain.

The Demons will have a great opportunity to see if

that offseason summer work has actually paid off as their non-region early

schedule -having played rival Northside in the season opener last season, the

two teams will play on Sept. 21 this year- will give them plenty of test. “We

have a really tough non-region schedule [this season],” noted Chastain. “We’re

playing Tift County and Colquitt County and Locust Grove is supposed to be as

good as they have been in the last couple years.”

Warner Robins opens the season at home against Tift

County before traveling north to play at Locust Grove High School, a 4-5A

program, a week later. Last season’s run to the state championship game has the

Demons on the AAAAA radar and an early season challenge or two (or three) will

be par for the course at this point. They have a scheduled road game at Baldwin

High School a week later before hosting the Colquitt Packers and head coach Rush

Propst on Sept. 14, all within the first month of the season.

The annual Northside game at McConnell-Talbert Stadium

is followed by the regular meeting with nearby Houston County High School,

before the start of the region schedule. Last season the Demons won every

regular season game, this season there will be just as many tests.

The expectations are heavy this year, especially for a team that is

returning the starting quarterback and region player of the year, two key

receivers and starting cornerbacks, including a transfer that has already

committed to a Division I program. “We just take it one game at a time,” says

Chastain.

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