Putnam County football is ready to get started. The War Eagles will suit up this Friday to host West Laurens for a 7:30 p.m.scrimmage at Al Reaves Field.
Putnam County’s Joel Harvin, who’s entering his third year as head coach, is ready to see his players compete against another team, using the scrimmage against the Class 3A Raiders as a gauge to measure how much they’ve improved over the summer. He also wants to see how his players have prepared themselves during the offseason.
“With such a short week of being in full pads, our main focus has been working on ourselves and getting ourselves in playing shape and trying to prepare to play a full game with equipment on,” Harvin said.
The War Eagles recently completed the GHSA’s acclimation period. The players transitioned from wearing only shorts and helmets to putting on full pads at practice. During the spring and summer, they hadn’t worn full pads.
The Putnam coaching staff has not yet seen their players go full speed in pads. This Friday, they’ll watch them play not only at full speed but also being more physical. The players started competing in full-contact drills late last week.
Harvin said he and his assistant coaches are excited about that part.
“We have to hit a little more this week and can prepare a little more for the physical aspect of the game,” he said. “While also working on the fundamentals, we need to be successful. We want to see how the guys we have moved around to play new positions will play and we want to see which guys will do the little things right.”
West Laurens is a good litmus test for Putnam County. Entering his fifth season, head coach Kip Burnette led the Raiders to an 8-3 overall record last year and a trip to the playoffs. They return a lot of starters in 2025.
Most notably, tailback Ty Cummings returns for his junior year. He rushed for 1,765 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2024 and will lead the West Laurens’ rushing attack, which will challenge Putnam County’s defense.
The War Eagles’ front seven, anchored by Bryson Brown among others, will be tasked with stopping the run.
The Raiders are also stout on defense, especially on the defensive line and at the linebacker position. They return seven of their leading tacklers from last season, including Shannon Adkins, who totaled 102 stops.
But Putnam County has an experienced offensive line, so it needs to make running paths for the offense to succeed.
The War Eagles will play a second scrimmage next week, too, facing former region rival Washington County, also at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 8 at home on Al Reaves Field.