Warner Robins prepares for fifth straight state title game Saturday against Calhoun
For the fifth consecutive year, Warner Robins is in the 5A state championship game. The Demons have won three straight road games as a No. 2 seed to reach the title showdown.
Warner Robins takes on Calhoun on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Georgia State’s Center Parc Stadium with the opportunity to become the first team in school history to win back-to-back state titles.
But this team wasn’t supposed to be able to get back here. Warner Robins lost far too much talent from last year’s championship squad, including quarterback Jaylen Addie and linebacker Ahmad Walker.
Head coach Marquis Westbrook said this is the narrative he heard all offseason, but his team responded by reeling off a 13-1 season and are one win from another title.
“It will be huge for two reasons: The caliber of kids who graduated from the 2020 season and the kids that came back. It was supposedly a drop-off,” Westbrook said. “We were not supposed to be as good [as last season] and these kids played with a chip on their shoulder all year. It was a different football team this year. They just came out and performed.”
A big part of why the Demons are back in the state title game is senior running back Jafredrick Perry.
When starting running back Malcolm Brown went down with a season-ending injury, Warner Robins was left with a question of who would step up to fill his role.
Perry quickly answered this question by rushing for more than 700 yards and 14 touchdowns in the team’s four playoff games.
Westbrook said he saw Perry’s potential starting to show in the spring, but he didn’t quite expect this breakout.
“We didn’t anticipate losing Malcolm. So for [Perry] to run the ball the way he has been running it has been tremendous,” Westbrook said. “Hats off to the offensive line continuing to do what they do because we can plug other guys in and continue to run the football as well as we have. That is a testament to those guys as well.”
Next up for Warner Robins is a stiff test in the form of Calhoun. The Yellow Jackets are back in the title game for the first time since 2017 and for the first time since legendary head coach Hal Lamb retired. Calhoun has since hired head coach Clay Stephenson and moved from 3A to 5A.
A tough Calhoun team
Many in Middle Georgia will remember the last time the Yellow Jackets appeared in the state championship, as they knocked off Peach County in one of the most controversial endings in recent memory.
Calhoun is 12-2 on the season and is a No. 2 seed like Warner Robins. The Yellow Jackets have won two of their last three games on the road, including a 49-42 win over Ware County, the only team to beat Warner Robins this season.
Cole Speer, a 3-star wide receiver committed to the University of Georgia, is an X-factor for Calhoun. Speer has 60 catches for more than 1,100 yards and 15 touchdowns. The Demons defense will likely need to keep him in check in order to prevail in this one.
Westbrook said one of the biggest strengths for Calhoun is their discipline on both sides of the ball: they are rarely caught out of position.
“They don’t do a whole lot of things to get them in trouble. They play within the scheme and play together,” Westbrook said. “They are well-coached. They got some really good athletes too who can really hurt you. That is what I see when I look across the field at those guys.”
A living legend?
A win against Calhoun would likely propel Westbrook into the discussion as one of the best coaches to ever don the signature R.
He would become the only coach in school history with back-to-back state titles and would move within in one state title of tying the legend Robert Davis for the most in school history. Westbrook has the opportunity to accomplish all of this in his third season at the helm.
A win on Saturday would move his record to a 40-4 record as the head coach with two state titles and runner-up. A win would likely cement his legacy at Warner Robins forever. But Westbrook isn’t thinking about where he slots in all the time list just yet.
“People say that but we got the legend Robert Davis who sat in this seat for a long time and the wins he racked up here and the legacy he left behind,” Westbrook said. “I know we are doing special things here and I got a long time left but he was a guy who built this thing. And I don’t try to think that far ahead.
“I try to get my mind focused on where we are at right now. If I am blessed I will coach for a long time and hopefully, I can be in those talks later in my career.”
This story was originally published December 9, 2021 at 2:37 PM.