Warner Robins holds off Veterans for important win

Warner Robins utilized a late goal-line stand to outlast a resilient Veterans team and come away with a huge 18-13 GHSA Region 1-5A victory Thursday night at McConnell-Talbert Stadium.

The Demons (3-6, 2-1 region) dominated the opening half, holding Veterans (5-5, 2-2) to just a single yard rushing on nine attempts as they took a 9-0 lead.

Veterans tailback Ammarian Brown went 65 yards for a score on the opening play from scrimmage in the second half to trim the Warner Robins advantage to 9-7. The teams then traded field goals before Veterans took its first lead of the game on a 39-yard kick from James Tinney, who had just come up short from 40 yards on the previous possession.

The game-winning score came five plays later, as Javian Bradford-Jackson stepped out of two tackles for a 42-yard touchdown.

Veterans got the ball back with more than four minutes to go and drove inside the Demons’ 5 before being turned away on four straight opportunities, culminating in a tipped pass that ended the threat.

Three who mattered

Michael Bradley: The Demons’ quarterback found plenty of early success, rushing for 70 yards and passing for 79 in the first half. He cooled off after the break, but made a huge 25-yard throw to Julius Cobbs on a third-and-10 on the game-winning drive.

Leyton Pinckney: Forced to throw by a Warner Robins defense that stacked the box, Pinckney finished 17-of-29 for 167 yards. He completed 9-of-16 for 99 yards in the second half.

Jeremy Horton: Pinckney’s favorite target, Horton hauled in six of his nine receptions in the second half, including a clutch diving grab on the sideline as Veterans tried to take the lead late.

They said it

Warner Robins head coach Mike Chastain on his team’s final stand: “I just want to thank Jesus Christ. God is so good and faithful. I think God helped us in that situation. The defense played great (Thursday). They’re just a bunch of really good players, and they play with so much heart and fire. I’m really proud of our defense (Thursday).”

Chastain on Bradford-Jackson’s game-winning run: “It was just a great play. We caught an edge over there, read the end, gave it to him, and it was just a really good play by a really good playmaker.”

Chastain on the magnitude of the win and remaining in region title contention: “This one is huge. We’re going to need some help from Harris County in beating a really good Thomas County Central team next week, but we’re just fortunate to have a chance to be 3-1 if we win next week and host a playoff game.”

Also Thursday

Southwest defeated East Laurens 39-0 in a Region 3-2A contest at Henderson Stadium.

What’s next?

Warner Robins travels to Bainbridge on Nov. 4, while Veterans’ regular season has concluded.

This story was originally published October 27, 2016 at 11:14 PM with the headline "Warner Robins holds off Veterans for important win."