Warner Robins routs Grovetown to clinch playoff berth

WARNER ROBINS -- Warner Robins put its one goal to bed early Friday.

The Demons recovered a Grovetown fumble on the kickoff, scored shortly after and never looked back, cruising to a 45-6 victory.

With the win, Warner Robins (7-3, 5-3 GHSA Region 2-AAAAA) clinches a playoff berth in the Class AAAAA playoffs and also ended any hopes of Grovetown sneaking its way in.

"I thought we came out and played really well early," Warner Robins head coach Bryan Way said. "We talked all week about starting fast and getting off to a good start, and I thought we did a good job of doing that.

Terry Harris scored on a 1-yard run just after the Demons recovered a Grovetown fumble on the opening kickoff and added two more touchdowns in the half as Warner Robins dominated the line of scrimmage the entire game.

But it was Demons running back Javian Bradford-Jackson who did a majority of the grunt work as he usually does, racking up 186 yards on 17 carries and set up Harris' third touchdown with a huge 64-yard run through the middle of Grovetown's defense to set up the Demons' offense inside the 5.

The offense moved efficiently down the field for most of the contest, but the Demons' bid for a shutout came to an end late in the second quarter. Quarterback Ivan Corbin moved the offense into the red zone, but as he took a snap and rolled out of the pocket, Corbin was hit by a Grovetown defender. Corbin, falling to the ground, tried to throw the ball away, but it went directly into the hands of Greggory Rodgers, who returned the interception 83 yards for a touchdown.

"Our defense played lights out (Friday), I thought they really did," Way said. "Then we make a bonehead play right there before the half and let them have a little life, but then we came out in the second half and continued to play good defense. I was proud of our guys. Defense is all about effort. I'm satisfied with this win for sure.

Corbin scored two touchdowns, a 5-yard run in the first half and keeping the ball on a read-option and scampering 34 yards for a score.

Place-kicker Connor Shaw was perfect on the night, converting all five of his extra point attempts and connecting on a 32-yard field goal.

The Demons host Jones County on Thursday in a key region showdown.

This story was originally published October 31, 2015 at 12:02 AM with the headline "Warner Robins routs Grovetown to clinch playoff berth ."