Putnam County had a bye for the last week of the regular season and found out its playoff fate last Saturday.
The War Eagles finished the season with a 5-5 record. They were named the No. 20 seed in the Class A Division I power rankings and will face No. 13 Thomasville in the first round.
“It’s great to be able to get the gear on again when a lot of teams have taken all their stuff off,” Putnam County head coach Joel Harvin said. “I think it’s a privilege for our kids to be tested for all the work they put in, and for our coaches, too, for all they’ve done throughout the season, to be one of 32 teams left in the state.”
Harvin has led the program to the state playoffs for a third straight year — a notable achievement. The team has reached the postseason for seven consecutive years, dating back to Shaun Pope’s time as head coach.
Now in his third season, Harvin thanked the school system’s administration and community for their support of the program.
“It’s now seven years in a row, man,” Putnam County’s head coach said. “It’s just a testament to our kids and their commitment to wanting to be good in football, and to our administration for setting things up the way they need to be set up so that we can stay competitive year after year and put a good product on the field.”
Putnam County went 1-2 for a tough start to the season, but then won two straight games against Haralson County, the No. 16 seed in the playoffs, and McNair. A tough fourth-quarter loss to Social Circle left them at 3-3, but they bounced back with two wins in a row against Utopian Academy and Towers.
However, Putnam County lost its last two regular-season games to No. 2 seed Lamar County, and to Jasper County, the No. 7 seed.
Harvin remains convinced his team is better than its record suggests.
“So, you go look at a lot of our games, and over the past two years, we’ve been five and five in the regular season. But it could very well be eight and two or nine and one; that kind of game and those types of teams,” Harvin stated. “We’re close right now; we just need to find a way to get over that hump. I believe we can consistently be in the state playoffs and put together good, quality teams.”
Every playoff team in the state has a week off, so Putnam County is practicing and focusing on improving itself. Then, over the weekend, the War Eagles will shift their focus to Thomasville and start preparing for their first-round game.
Harvin and his staff aim to correct the mistakes his team made during the season and turn to playing a full, four-quarter game. He believes his squad can make a deep postseason run if it does.
“We just need to play four quarters,” Harvin said. “We’ve been ahead of all the good teams in the third quarter. Then, in the fourth quarter, we just run out of gas, give up the lead, and don't finish the game. We’re that close. If we can get to that point, we have the potential to make a run in the playoffs.”