Putnam County’s offense, especially its running game, excelled in the team’s dominant win over rival Greene County on Aug. 15, but head coach Joel Harvin believes the defensive unit doesn’t get enough credit.
The War Eagles struggled on defense during the past two weeks in scrimmages against West Laurens and Washington County. However, the unit played stingy in the 42-15 victory in the season opener against the Tigers.
Harvin said the key was getting his players in the right position on defense, which contributed to the team’s success.
“We talked last week about how we have different players playing different positions that they've never played before, and trying to get that experience for them,” Harvin said to The Eatonton Messenger after the game. “So, I thought we had significantly improved over the past three weeks with those guys in those positions.”
Putnam County made several impactful plays on defense, including an interception by senior linebacker Jayson Smith. The veteran intercepted a pass midway through the second quarter with the game tied at 15-15.
Harvin is very proud of Smith, who also made several tackles in the one-sided win over Greene County.
“The one player I think has probably improved the most is Jayson Smith,” the third-year War Eagle head coach said. “He had a really good game last night with the interception, along with quite a few tackles for loss. But, that's just one guy; several others also had great performances like that.”
Smith totaled 7.5 stops and had two tackles for loss.
Outside of running back Dontriel Grable scoring two rushing touchdowns, Greene County’s offense struggled to move the ball. Putnam County constantly lived in the Tigers’ backfield and effectively stopped the run.
The War Eagles totaled eight tackles for loss and had three sacks.
Senior defensive end Steven Grandt totaled five stops, but also had team-highs in tackles for loss (three) and sacks (two). The 6-foot, 220-pound defender had a sack on Greene County quarterback Landon Garretson on fourth down in the first quarter.
Junior edge rusher Bryson Brown recorded the other sack, while, aside from Grandt and Smith, sophomore linebacker Kumari Thomas was the other Putnam County defender with multiple tackles for loss.
Senior linebacker Christian Farley had a team-high nine tackles and a fumble recovery.
While those players all had standout performances on the state sheet, Harvin believed another defender deserved recognition. He stated that junior defensive tackle Japeth Nelson rose to the occasion several times.
“Japeth Nelson played almost every snap on defense. And then also played every snap on the offensive line, which is almost impossible,” Harvin said. “That shows you how well in shape he is and how good a player he is. So we are proud of him for doing that.”
The Putnam County head coach also credited new defensive coordinator James Lal, who he said dialed up a nice game plan.
“Defensively, (James Lal), the defensive coordinator, did a good job of changing the books up,” Harvin said. “Those guys are really kind of coming into their own on the defensive side of the ball.”
Harvin hopes the defensive will show up again and perform well against a high-powered Morgan County offensive attack on Friday.