Warner Robins football sputters in opener at Lee County

LEESBURG, Ga. — The offense sputtered and the defense struggled to contain the run on Friday as Warner Robins lost to Lee County 45-28.

The Demons (0-1) have lost four of their last five meetings against the Trojans (1-0), and they showed similar problems they had this time last year in the loss.

Here are three observations:

PHOTOS: See more shots from Friday’s action.

1. Poor pass protection and drops prevent a productive passing attack

As the Demons faced a growing lead in the second half, they tried to take to the air to move down the field.

Lee County jumped a route 10 seconds into the fourth quarter and took the interception 50 yards to the house to make it 35-14 Trojans after three straight design quarterback runs for Skyler Williams.

On the next drive they had two dropped passes, and one would have went for a touchdown. They had another drop on a crucial third down with eight minutes left.

If the drops weren’t enough of a problem on their own, Williams had no choice but to get the ball out quick or scramble when he was in the pocket on Friday.

The Warner Robins offensive line struggled in pass protection, and allowed pressure from every angle at some point in the night. Even if Williams did get the pass off, the linebackers and the secondary were all over any screen passes or short passes the Demons completed.Were it a less mobile quarterback, the Demons would’ve been unable to produce any offense.

2. Skyler Williams carried the Demons’ offense

Williams had two of Warner Robins’ four touchdowns — one of which came in garbage time.

The first came on the second drive of the first quarter after big losses on first and second down. Williams took it 48 yards to the house to tie the game at seven with 5:45 remaining in the period.

The second came in the fourth quarter, just after the Demons dropped a touchdown pass. Williams took another long run down the left sideline for a 50-yard touchdown to make it 35-21 Trojans with 10:39 to play.

In between those runs he made some incredible plays with his legs. He scrambled and avoided Lee County pressure well for the most part, and pulled out jukes and stiff arms to make several defenders miss on multiple occasions.

He also took it up the gut and powered through the defense several times to at least break even after the pocket collapsed. He even recovered his own fumble that rolled into the end zone, and managed to get back close to the line of scrimmage at around the 25-yard line.

Williams showed the most fight of any player on the Demons on Friday, and Warner Robins football coach Shane Sams said he was proud of him and others.

3. The defense did not contain Ousmane Kromah or Weston Bryan

Nobody expected Warner Robins to shut down Kromah, one of if not the best running backs in the state of Georgia.

However, they didn’t even begin to slow him or Bryan down for much of the game.

Kromah used his elite change of direction and ability to stay balanced all night long, and turned what would have been a two or three yard gain for many backs into six, seven or more.

The secondary did prevent him from turning in any house calls, but there were plenty of times he got to the last line of defense.

Bryan also played a big role in the running game. His size allowed him to power through some defenders, and it often took two players or more players to bring him down.

Holes opened up everywhere for Lee County, that will have to be a big point of emphasis for the Demons moving forward.

Noteworthy

Warner Robins was not a team that forced a lot of turnovers last year. In this game alone, they forced three, and weren’t able to do anything with them offensively. They forced three fumbles (Lee County recovered one) and brought in an interception.

Also, star safety Rasean Dinkins left the game in the third quarter with what appeared to be severe cramps in both of his legs. Though he was carted off of the field, and did not return. His loss would be a big one; He carried a lot of man-to-man responsibilities on defense, and brought in the only passing touchdown for Warner Robins on Friday.

UP NEXT

The Demons will get back to work next week as they host Fayette County for their home opener. Kickoff is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 23 at 7:30 p.m.