Peach County coach on rally to beat Troup: ‘Never been down 26 and won’

Today’s Four Questions interviewee is Peach County coach Marquis Westbrook, whose team rallied from a 26-0 first-quarter deficit to beat third-ranked Troup 52-38 and clinch the Region 2-4A championship. Both teams entered the game 9-0. Peach County, the No. 1 seed in Class 4A, will play East Jackson at home Friday night. Westbrook is in his fourth season at Peach County. He led Warner Robins to state titles in 2020 and 2021.

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1. Ever been down 26 and won before? What do you tell your players?

“Never been down 26 and won a game. We were down against Mary Persons early in the season, but not like that. Earlier in my career against Bainbridge (in the 2018 state finals) we got down big and made it to overtime, but this was more of a challenge. They were the No. 1 team in the state (in the GHSA’s Post Season Rankings standings) playing at their place.

“I have to admit, on the sideline, looking in our kids’ eyes, they had that look like, ‘What do we do?’ But there was no bickering or finger pointing. Usually, that’s the case (with teams getting in big holes), but I’m proud of them for that.

“As far as what I told them, just, ‘Stay the course. We’re just going to play an aggressive game.’ We went for it a couple of times on fourth down. Our quarterback had the biggest night of his life. He took us up and down the field. Hats off to Caiden (Ivory) and his efforts. Our running backs and offensive line did their thing. Our defense slowed their running back (Javarris Warner). That kid is a player, man. We were able to keep him under wraps for the most part.”

(Note: Warner rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Warner, who is committed to Duke, has rushed for a Class 4A-leading 1,838 yards. Caiden Ivory rushed for 229 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 131 yards and a touchdown. Peach County beat Mary Persons 29-21 on Oct. 2 after trailing 14-0 in the first quarter and 21-7 in the third. While an assistant coach in 2018, Warner Robins trailed Bainbridge 21-0 early and 35-7 in the third quarter and lot 47-41 in three overtimes. The AJC has rated that the greatest championship game in GHSA history.)

2. Was there a key moment or turning point?

“If I had to point to one key moment in the game, let me think back now. I think it was the Deandre Stinson long run. It was like 58 yards, somewhere in that range. It was at a critical time in the game. (It was Peach County’s first score.) We hit them with what we call a duo, a power play without a puller, and (Stinson) read it and was able to outrun the secondary and get in the end zone. We felt like we could run on them then. That’s when we really started pressing the gas. We got a stop after that, and you could feel the momentum change.”

(Note: Ashton Barton scored on an 85-yard run later in the quarter, and Peach trailed only 29-24 at halftime.)

3. How does this team compare with your others at Peach County?

“I think this team right here is more seasoned. A lot of these kids were toting the load last year. We have 28 seniors, and the majority played a bunch last year. Last year, we were really unfortunate. We had some injuries. Now we’re healthy. Our kids are playing at a high level. Last year’s team was talented, but this year’s team knows how to come to practice and adjust and respond to coaching. Not saying last year’s team wasn’t like that, but this team has an accountability factor, and it’s real, not fake. They hold each other accountable.”

(Note: Ivory was unable to play in the 2025 playoffs. Peach County lost to Jenkins in the second round.)

4. This is the GHSA’s first year using the PSR in all brackets. You are seeded No. 1. Troup is No. 2. Six teams from your region made the playoffs. (They are No. 8 Baldwin, No. 14 Mary Persons, No. 23 Howard and No. 24 Spalding.) How do you feel about it?