By Steve Carter
TIFTON — In what could be the most balanced year for teams in the long and storied history of Region 1-AAAAA football there is still one team unbeaten in league play, the Warner Robins Demons.
The Tift County Blue Devils will attempt to hand the Demons their first loss Friday night when Tift hosts Warner Robins in the Brimstone Bowl at Brodie Field for an 8 p.m. contest.
“I said earlier in the season the team to beat in the region was Lowndes, because they were the defending champions,” Tift County head coach Jay Walls said. “But I think Warner Robins has now jumped up in there, because they are undefeated. So they are the team to beat.”
The Demons remained unbeaten in league play with a 24-7 win over the Coffee High Trojans last Saturday.
Coffee led 7-3 through most of the game, but Warner Robins scored 21 points in the fourth quarter. Two of those scores were defensive touchdowns as the Demons’ Justin Cowart returned an interception 41 yards for a score. Then on Coffee’s next offensive play, Thomas Bruce returned a fumble 10 yards for another touchdown.
“Coffee had five turnovers and that is what cost Coffee the ball game,” said Walls. “Three of them in the fourth quarter just killed their momentum. Two of them were defensive touchdowns for Warner Robins. We will have to avoid turnovers against them.”
In the matchup against the Trojans, Warner Robins showed good offensive balance, putting up 159 yards on the ground and 107 yards through the air.
“They run the wing-T and do a very good job of spreading the ball around,” Walls said. “They have got three outstanding running backs, and they are very similar to Houston County.”
Houston County Bear Eric O’Neal rushed for 186 yards against Tift in the Devils’ 20-17 win over the Bears last Thursday. The Bears rushed for 198 yards as a team and put up 50 yard through the air.
“(Warner Robins’) No. 23 (DeWayne Jackson) is their very fast runner,” Walls said. “He is the kind of guy that can beat you on the corner.
“The fullback is tough. He does a good job with the trap and the belly.”
Jackson had 114 yards on 19 carries against Coffee. On the year, he has rushed for 488 yards on 88 carries.
On the year, the Demons have rushed for 1,424 yards on 273 carries, an average of 5.2 yards per carry.
Even after O’Neal’s big game against them, the Tift County defense still is only allowing 91.6 yards rushing per game.
Warner Robins quarterback Mark Wright (6-foot-2, 200) missed all of last season due to a knee injury. He was hurt again earlier this year, but has shaken it off to complete 29-of-75 passes for 429 yards.
“Their quarterback is a great athlete that can throw the ball,” Walls said. “He looked completely healthy against Coffee. He wears a knee brace, but he played pretty dang good against Coffee.”
Please see Tift, Page 3B
