By Christian Malone
The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Wildcats go on the road for the first time this season, traveling to Warner Robins today for a big Region 1-AAAAA game.
The Wildcats (3-1, 0-1 region) and the Demons (3-1, 1-0) kick off at 7:30 p.m. at McConnell-Talbert Stadium.
“It will be a real battle,” Valdosta head coach Rick Tomberlin said. “(Warner Robins) is real good. They’re better than they’ve been the last two years. They’ve got a fine program, and a heck of a football team. We’ve got a good team. It ought to be a good game.
“We’ve got to play great to have a chance to win.”
The game will be a matchup of two of the most storied high school football programs in Georgia. Valdosta has won 23 state championships and six national championships. Warner Robins has won four state and two national championships. Valdosta owns 40 region championships, while Warner Robins has 23. Valdosta owns an .811 lifetime winning percentage (846-197-34), while Warner Robins’ winning percentage is .704 (438-184-11)
For over three decades, Warner Robins has run a basic wing-T offense. There aren’t many plays in the Demons’ playbook, but Valdosta’s coach says that they run each of those plays real well.
“They run almost a vanilla wing-T,” Tomberlin said. “They’ve done it for 30 years. They do it real well. They’re going to run buck sweep, they’re going to run a fullback trap, they’re going to run Iso, they’re going to run the Sally play, they’re going to run the waggles. They don’t do a whole lot else. They’re going to do that no matter who they play.”
Brian Sutton leads Warner Robins with 252 yards rushing and four touchdowns. D.J. Butts has rushed for 247 yards and three touchdowns, and averages 10.7 yards per carry. Jonathan Jackson has 227 yards and one touchdown. The Demons average 287.8 yards rushing per game.
“They have some outstanding backs. Man they’re good,” Tomberlin said. “Their rushing offense is phenomenal. Brian Sutton (averages) 8.4 yards a carry, D.J. Butts 10.7 yards a carry, Jonathan Jackson 7.8 yards a carry, Dominique Primus 10.1 yards a carry, Jamaine Collins 8.6 yards a carry, Taurus Coates 8.4 yards a carry. Have you ever heard of (so many good backs) in your life?”
Warner Robins rarely throws the ball (quarterback Maurice Dudley is 4-of-15 passing for 69 yards). Instead, it relies on its running game to move the ball. This year, the Demons are splitting the carries between several backs averaging over seven yards per carry.
On defense, the Demons base out of a 4-3 front, but can also line up in a 50 shade or a 4-4. Valdosta must find a way to block Warner Robins’ outstanding pair of defensive tackles, Jeffrey Whitaker and Andrew Lauritsen. The 6-foot-4, 299-pound Whitaker is the No. 22 defensive tackle in the nation and a four-star prospect, and has offers from Division I programs all over the country (including Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Auburn). Lauritsen is 6-foot-2, 265 pounds, and is also a college prospect.
“They are giants at defensive tackle,” Tomberlin said. “They are mountains.”
Last year, the Wildcats outplayed the Demons in Valdosta, outgaining them 276 yards to 105, but Warner Robins won the game 7-0. Valdosta had the ball inside the Demons’ 20-yard line four times, but came away with no points. The Wildcats also turned the ball over four times.
“They won the game, but I thought we had some chances to win the game, too,” Tomberlin said.
Valdosta had dominated its competition before a 16-13 loss to Northside last week. Tomberlin says the Eagles’ special teams play was the difference in the game, and that Valdosta has worked a lot on special teams this week.
Valdosta quarterback DaShay March ranks second in the region with 441 passing yards and leads the region with six touchdown passes. He also leads the Wildcats in rushing with 259 yards, and has scored two touchdowns. Tight end Jay Rome leads the region in receiving, with 15 catches for 288 yards and three touchdowns. Dhahrod Hall has scored four touchdowns.
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