Rome-Warner Robins 2018 feels different than Rome-Warner Robins 2017
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
A little more than a year ago, Rome was where was supposed to be and Warner Robins wasn’t.
Nobody expected Rome to not be in the GHSA Class 5A state title game, and nobody expected the opponent to be a team that went 3-8 a year earlier while undergoing transitions in all phases, including a new head coach and staff.
Rome and Warner Robins are playing late in the season again, and it’s not much of a surprise that the Wolves and Demons are meeting up at McConnell-Talbert Stadium again in a GHSA Class 5A semifinal.
“They’re not a whole lot different,” Warner Robins head coach Mike Chastain said. “They’re well coached, they’ve still got really good players.”
What the Wolves don’t have this year are FBS defensive linemen Adam Anderson, Jamarcus Chatman, Quon Griffin, and T.J. Cammack. They’re at Georgia, Florida State, Georgia Tech, and Navy.
“They’re still good high school football players,” Chastain said. “Sometimes you have the big player, but in a game, sometimes there’s not much difference.”
And while the Wolves may not have that star power, they’re still only giving up 14 points a game and have held seven opponents this year to single digits, and only two – Class 7A Marietta and 5A Carrollton – have scored more than 14 points.
“They’re still really good on defense,” Chastain said. “They’re a really good high school defense.”
This time, they’re a little stronger at linebacker, with Derricus Smith (100 tackes) and Nick Burge (80), who have teamed for 19 tackles for loss, Montrell Millsp leading with four sacks.
Jamous Griffin is back in the backfield, and he’s gained 2,662 yards on 262 carries – 10.2 a carry and 204.8 a game – with 37 touchdowns. QB Knox Kadum is back, with precision decision-making to the tune of 1,473 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and no interceptions, completing 64.5 percent of his passes, and 591 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.
Both teams’ returnees – and there are plenty – are more seasoned, but that’s bigger for Warner Robins, which hadn’t been on that stage in awhile. Rome came in and steamrolled the Demons.
“I think I read a quote where somebody was talking to the Griffin kid, and he said that this year, they feel like they’re still really, really good,” Chastain said. “But last year, they felt like that could beat anybody in the country.
“And that’s true. I’d like to see a high school team better than them last year. They were that good last year.”
But the gap has closed a good bit, moreso coming from the Warner Robins side. The Demons replaced several starters and hardly lost a step. Even with wideout/tight end and major target Tyler Fromm out most of the regular season, the Demons are scoring two more points a game behind quarterback Dylan Fromm.
One reason is the emergence of Marcayll Jones, now holder of the state’s single season mark for receiving yards. But the Demons remain balanced and deep.
The defense has taken a step forward, and Warner Robins has four shutouts, including one against co-semifinalist and region rival Bainbridge, by a 38-0 count.
Early mistakes in other areas were the culprit in the Demons’ 41-14 loss to Colquitt County, but after that is when the defense starting hitting a stride.
“I don’t know that it turned a corner, so to speak, ” Chastain said. “Everybody played bad in our Colquitt game. But that’s why you play those good opponents, so you can see what you need to work on. I believe that game was a big game that showed us a lot of things we need to get better at.
“I don’t think our defense got a whole lot better. I think it was a big eye-opener, that if anybody thought we were really, really good in one spot, you got exposed a little bit. It also gives you a little confidence.”
And Warner Robins enters this meeting with more legitimate and proven confidence than the last time.
“We just got go play our game, do what’s got us this far from last year,” Chastain said. “They’re a really good team, but I think we’re pretty good, too.”