Warner Robins turns in dominant performance to start the season against Valdosta
Warner Robins was the team to beat in 5A last season, turning in strong performances all season, capped off with a 62-28 state championship victory over Cartersville.
But the Demons lost several key players from that team, and they began their 2021 season Saturday evening against a perennially tough opponent: Valdosta.
In the second game in the Macon Touchdown Club Kickoff Classic, held at Mercer University’s Five Star Stadium, the Demons started slowly, going down 7 points early following a blocked punt that turned into a scoop-and-score for the Wildcats.
But they didn’t stay down for long, ultimately beating Valdosta 48-20 and cementing themselves again as title contenders.
New quarterback Christon Lane threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half, including a 36-yard strike to wide receiver Daveon Walker.
The Demons went into halftime up 27-14 after the Wildcats scored their first offensive touchdown of the night from quarterback Joseph Gardner to wide receiver Nevin Spivey.
The two teams traded punts to begin the second half. Jafredrick Perry took a punt return 59 yards for the score, his second of his three touchdowns. Perry ran over and through a host of Wildcat defenders.
Warner Robins dominated for much of the second half aside from a trick play touchdown catch by Gardner.
The Demons got a measure of revenge against a Valdosta team that knocked them off in the season opener last season before that game was forfeited by the Wildcats.
Three stars
Jafredrick Perry, Warner Robins ATH: Perry only touched the ball six times on the night but the senior made the most of it with three scores and over 100 yards from scrimmage.
His 40-yard touchdown run in the second quarter gave Warner Robins the lead for good. His punt return score was one the biggest highlights of the game as he trucked a Valdosta defender before bursting ahead for the score.
Warner Robins defensive line: For most of the first half, this game was settled in the trenches. Junior Victor Burley is the leader of this line and showed it all night clogging up the middle and blocking an extra point.
But the whole line made it tough for Valdosta to get anything going on offense. Warner Robins only gave up 14 points on defense.
Malcolm Brown, Warner Robins RB:A key piece from last season’s championship team is back and looks like he will need to carry a larger load for the Demons.
Brown carried the ball 32 times for 115 yards and he caught three passes for 30 yards. Brown found the end zone on three different occasions. His lone mistake on the night was a fumble on the first drive of the game.
What they said
“I am proud of the way our guys finished. In the locker room at half time we were still on pins and needles because they took the momentum.” — Warner Robins coach Marquis Westbrook on how his team responded to several big plays from Valdosta right before halftime.
“You got to go to work everyday. You can’t let the outside forces dictate how you prepare. You just got to know you’re playing a full 48 minute game. All the atmosphere is beautiful but you still got to prepare. I tell my guys we’ve never beaten anybody on paper. You got to go play the game and that’s what we did.” — Westbrook on putting the state title behind them and going back to work.
FPD 48, ACE 0
The first game in the Macon Touchdown Club Kickoff Classic demonstrated how tough FPD will be this year.
FPD had to replace its quarterback from a season ago, Parker Ingram. New quarterback Jakhari Williams showcased his arm strength and ability to make people miss against ACE.
Williams completed 9-of-14 for 152 yards and 4 touchdowns. Williams didn’t play much in the second half as FPD had the game well in hand.
Scoreboard
- Howard 17, Central 9 (Thursday final)
- Mary Persons 42, Towers County 0
- Northside 48, Veterans 7
- Jeff Davis 41, Rutland 0
- Westside 35, Bradwell Institute 10
- Central (Phenix City) 42, Peach County 23
- Perry 36, Houston County 13
- Bleckley County 21, West Laurens 14
What’s next
Northside vs Peach County
Northside notched a win over Veterans to start its season. The Eagles will look to carry that momentum into a showdown with Peach County. Last season, Northside upset the Trojans 14-7 in a turnover fest, with each team fumbling the ball multiple times.
Peach County will come in motivated following a loss in week one to its out-of-state opponent Central (Phenix City). This should be another low-scoring, close game between these two teams.
Northeast vs Central (Macon)
Northeast is coming off of an emotional win with the upset over Jones County. Central got off to a slow start with a loss to Howard in the season opener. The Raiders are the best team in Macon but shouldn’t overlook a Central team that is well coach and has talent at some key skill positions.
If Northeast can put its big win behind them and move onto the next game, the Raiders should start the season 2-0.
This story was originally published August 21, 2021 at 11:49 PM.