Demons’ defense faces mighty task

Progress is obviously important, and it’s often hard for an outsider to see.

Mike Chastain knows that people are looking at records, and at his team’s 0-3 start, and find nuggets of optimism hard to find.

“The guys really believe they got better,” said Chastain, whose team had a bye week after losing 20-19 to Peach County. “That sounds (odd), losing a game that way at the end. But we got better.”

The strides will have to be pretty tremendous for Warner Robins this week as the Demons host a team averaging more points than his has scored in three games combined, and a quarterback who has riddled four teams for 1,842 passing yards — and receivers who have caught those many passing yards, as well.

The Demons hope to stun the state when they host Houston County at 7 p.m. on Thursday in a non-region game.

The Bears, ranked first in Class 6A since the preseason, are 4-0 for the third straight season and fourth time since 2010. The Demons are 0-4 for the first time since 2010, when they started off 0-7 en route to a 2-8 season.

That year, Warner Robins was outscored 69-14 in its first three games by Peach County, Douglas County and Colquitt County. This year, the figure is 119-43 by Northside, Locust Grove and Peach County.

The Demons were set to tie the game against Peach County in the final minute but couldn’t pull off the PAT kick.

And they’ve had to wait to eliminate that taste. Chastain said practices have been good and the progress has continued, and that the time off compared to Houston County’s short week should also play in the Demons’ favor.

But the chance to get going again comes against a group that can humble a team mighty quickly, one that has failed to lead for only a little more than a half, that coming against Peach County in a 49-31 win.

Warner Robins is the latest defense to deal with Houston County quarterback Jake Fromm and his march to unseat DeShaun Watson atop the state’s all-time list in passing yardage. Fromm is currently 2,400 yards behind Watson and his 13,077 yards.

He has averaged 250 yards in three meetings with the Demons. Chastain was the Bears’ offensive coordinator for three years, and he helped build that offensive juggernaut, so certainly he has a greater appreciation of it now from the other side.

“No, I don’t have an appreciation,” Chastain said dryly. “No.”

Chastain and Houston County head coach Von Lassiter both think there’s an advantage for the Demons in Chastain’s familiarity with more than just the Bears’ scheme and personnel on offense.

“Mike went against our defense every day for three years,” Lassiter said. “I’ve gone against (Warner Robins’) defense three times. That’s an advantage in his favor.”

That Chastain knows Fromm’s game so well is one thing. That Chastain isn’t 17 years old and playing linebacker or defensive back and able to convert that knowledge into execution is another.

“You can’t let guys like that get comfortable,” Chastain said. “You have to mix it up. Drop (back), bring the house, man up, play zone. You just got to continue to mix it up.”

And then there’s the matter of covering veteran receivers Amari Colbert and Eli Watson, as well as emerging impact pass-catcher Tyler Fromm, not to mention running backs Jaeven West and Shelton Horton.

The Demons have had fundamentals on both sides to work on, including tackling, but they’ve gotten good performances this season from defensive linemen Taylor McGee and Bobby Kelly and linebacker Christian Anderson, among others. Chastain reeled off about a half-dozen names of defenders off to a good start. Michael Bradley is one of the better defensive backs in Middle Georgia, one who has experience against the Bears.

All that said, Lassiter expects the Bears to retain focus and not overlook the Demons despite an easy tendency for teenagers to do so.

“Our schools have grown to dislike each other for so long, it’s a rivalry,” Lassiter said. “Any time you play someone in this town, all that stuff doesn’t matter.

“It’s Warner Robins. It’s ‘Demon Week.’ They don’t care what the record is.”

This story was originally published September 14, 2016 at 9:20 PM with the headline "Demons’ defense faces mighty task."