Warner Robins football falls at home to Benedictine

WARNER ROBINS — This Warner Robins team is a tough one to figure out.

It’s clear that they’re a cut above teams like Fayette County and Wayne County, but when it comes to measuring up against championship hopefuls like Lee County and Benedictine it’s another story.

The Demons (5-2, 1-1 Region 1-4A) received a visit from the Benedictine Cadets (3-2, 1-0 Region) on Friday and lost 35-21, and they were never closer than two scores.

Here are three observations:

PHOTOS: See more of Friday’s action.

1. The passing offense is a question mark

The highlight of this Warner Robins offense was never going to be through the air. Skyler Williams is a pure athlete and they have lots of solid runners like Da’veon Latimore, Kelsey Perkins and Travis English Jr. to go with a veteran offensive line.

Their receiver room was also young and unproven coming into the season; Even now they have regulars on the field, but no one has separated themselves.

They’ve had plenty of offensive success running the ball. But keeping it on the ground is fine until it isn’t.

When the Demons gain enough on first and second down they can keep it on the ground and move down the field with ease. But the Cadets’ front made sure they couldn’t do that on Friday.

When Warner Robins did take to the air they saw mixed results, with more bad than good.

Williams has the arm strength to make most throws, but his accuracy and timing was off against Benedictine. He hit too low on some passes, missed the route timing on others and put too much velocity on some of the drops they had. Not to say all of the drops were on him, none of them were contested.

When the Demons were moving, penalties became another problem. They had two on the first drive alone, and two more on the next.

For Warner Robins football coach Shane Sams, the penalties were a big talking point after the game.

“[Benedictine is] a very good football team. They do every little small detail right. We made mistakes, we made penalties, and that’s what cost everything right there. In a game like this, [against a] team like that, you cannot make small mistakes,” Sams said.

The offense’s highlight was the final drive of the first half. They began on their own 32-yard line and marched down to the Benedictine 20-yard line. A touchdown pass to Nick Linder was called off because of offensive pass interference, but on the next play Rasean Dinkins brought down a contested 35-yard touchdown pass in the end zone to make it 21-7 Cadets at the half.

2. The defense was good…until it wasn’t

There is no denying the Demons’ defense plays some great football. In four games this season they’ve allowed 12 points or less for an average of 22.2 points allowed per game. 

Isaiah Gibson has his way with many opponents, Khaedric Edwards holds down the linebacker corps and Nick Linder, Rasean Dinkins and others play solid coverage on the back end while also supporting against the run.

There were several times Warner Robins caught Benedictine behind the sticks, and they did well pressuring quarterback Stephen Cannon. However, they struggled with speed in the open field and let big plays beat them multiple times.

After getting a stop on the Cadets’ first drive, Benedictine got down to the Demons’ 23-yard line before finding tight end John Lilly wide open over the middle of the field for a touchdown.

A drop derailed Warner Robins’ offensive drive, and on the Cadets’ first play from scrimmage on their next possession they took it 62-yards down the left sideline to make it 14-0.

Busted coverage in the red zone allowed another passing touchdown from Cannon under pressure to make it 21-0 Benedictine.

“People didn’t go to the right spots that we coached all week. They didn’t play the technique that we asked them to do, and when you make those mistakes they get you on plays,” Sams said of the defense’s performance.

3. Give the Cadets their credit

Warner Robins did not execute their game plan well enough on either side of the ball to win, that’s the sentiment Sams shared post-game. However, that doesn’t mean they just gave the game away.

As Sams mentioned previously, against a team like Benedictine you can’t make mistakes. To the Cadets’ credit, it seemed like they took advantage of just about every mistake from the Demons. They also put themselves in a position to win with a great defensive performance.

Outside linebacker Herbert Scroggins was arguably the most impactful player on the Benedictine defense; He found himself in the backfield regularly to wrap up Williams or any other runners.

Receiver Bubba Frazier was a big difference-maker on offense. His speed on sweeps and in the open field punished Warner Robins all night.

UP NEXT

This was the Demons’ last game in the MAC for the month of October. After a bye week next week they have a two-game road trip to New Hampstead (Oct. 18) and Ware County (Oct. 25) before returning home for the regular season finale against Perry on Friday, Nov. 1.