Warner Robins sat out the first round of Region 1 Roulette last week. The No. 3-ranked Demons watched the other four teams – three of them ranked -- in the classification’s toughest league slug it out.

Now it’s time for coach Marquis Westbrook’s team to jump in and get involved. That sets the stage for one of the year’s biggest games when the Demons host No. 1 Ware County on Friday at McConnell-Talbert Stadium.

Warner Robins did not play last week, but there were plenty of activity on the practice field.

“We got some work in, got some healing in and made some adjustments we needed to make,” Westbrook said. “And tried to just get ready for this week.”

Warner Robins is 5-1, with one of the wins a forfeit that overturned a close loss at Valdosta. The Demons have played a very difficult schedule to get ready and responded by hammering Class 7A power Archer, rivals Northside and Houston County and 7A Camden County. The Demons' only loss came to Lee County, the No. 1-ranked team in Class 6A, in a game where Warner Robins wasn’t at full strength.

The Demons appear to be tracking toward another deep run in the state playoffs, where they have reached the championship game the last three years. But the margin for error to return to the playoffs is slim; only four teams from the region quality and all five have been ranked at some point this year. A good team is going to be sitting home when postseason begins. Westbrook wants to make sure the Demons aren’t the team on the outside.

“We just have to make sure we perform and make sure the kids understand that we need to perform at the highest level,” he said.

The Demons have been good on both sides of the ball this season. The offense is averaging 34.6 points, the exception being the 27-7 loss to Lee County. Four times they’ve surpassed 40 points.

The attack is led by quarterback Jalen Addie, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound dual-threat prospect. The senior has thrown for 919 yards and seven touchdowns and rushed for another 430 yards and seven touchdowns. He’s sturdy and his long legs and slashing style makes him doubly tough.

Running back Jahlen Rutherford has started to emerge as the team’s vocal leader. He’s always done it with his legs; he’s rushed for 396 yards and four touchdowns this season, including a breakout game with 177 yards against Camden County. Rutherford has eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark the last two seasons.

The top receiver has been Armon Porter, who has 15 catches for a 27.5-yard average and five touchdowns, with Daveon Walker not far behind with 17 catches and a 19.5-yard average.

The Warner Robins defense is led by linebacker Ahmad Walker, who plays inside and outside and is more around to keep the opposition guessing. Walker, who has committed to Liberty, has nine tackles for loss, even though the plays typically go to the other side of the field.

Fellow linebacker Demarcus Robinson is a force on the inside. In the last game he broke the school’s all-time tackle record and now has 367 stops for his career. He has 42 tackles and seven tackles for loss this season.

The secondary is led by senior Xavier Hill and junior Antwon Jackson. Hill has two interceptions, Jackson has one.

After this week the Demons have a road game at Wayne County, return home to play Coffee and finish at Veterans.