The Putnam County War Eagles are rolling. After losing to Oconee County on Sept. 2, they’re now riding a four-game winning streak and haven’t been scored on in the last three.
Putnam County (5-1, 2-0 Region 4-2A) closed out the month on Sept. 29, with a 28-0 road victory over Westside High (1-5, 1-2 Region 4-2A), in Augusta.
War Eagles’ head coach Shaun Pope likes the intensity his players brought last week, especially since the game got moved up to Thursday due to the threat of bad weather from Hurricane Ian.
“They handled it really well, even after the adjustments we had to make,” Pope said. “We normally go out with pads on Wednesday, but we went out with helmets to practice. I thought they got through it really well and were focused. Everything went great.”
Putnam County struck first when senior tailback Tamarion Peters rushed for a 12-yard TD. The War Eagles led 7-0 after Andrew Hildreth knocked the PAT through the uprights.
The score would remain 7-0 at the end of the first quarter due to the physicality of the Patriots’ defense. However, Putnam County would break open the game in the second.
Pope said Westside came to play in the first half, but also some penalties plagued his offense.
“We still have got some things to clean up,” he said. “There were also some penalties we didn’t really see, either, especially after going back and looking at the film. Anyways, that’s part of the game … but our kids kept fighting and were able to overcome it.” Peters scored his second TD of the contest with 10 minutes left in the second quarter. He went right up the gut of the Westside defense, scoring from five yards out.
The War Eagles’ defense then settled in and kept Patriot quarterback Xavier Goss on his toes. The dual-threat signal caller could never ignite a spark for the Westside offense.
The most exciting play of the night came on a 99-yard TD run by Putnam County’s Rashod Daniel. The sophomore took a toss sweep from the left side and blew by defenders to ease the War Eagles into halftime with a 21-0 lead.
Westside’s powerful tandem rushing attack of Goss and running back Jeanarion Kamja came into the game with a combined total of 417 yards and three TDs. However, the duo was limited in what they could do against Putnam’s front seven.
“Defensively, (Westside) gashed us pretty good on their first couple of possessions,” Pope said. “We weren’t very sound. We were playing some young kids up front, and they were getting up the field. They made some plays on us, but we settled in.”
The War Eagles dominated the second half defensively and were able to move the ball on offense. However, they still led 21-0 going into the final quarter. The Patriots’ defense made a few key stops in the third quarter but just couldn’t respond offensively.
Putnam County’s ground attack kept the pressure on Westside’s front seven. Finally, Peters broke off an 89-yard run that went for a touchdown with less than three minutes left in the game.
The War Eagles had two rushers with more than 100 yards, as Peters totaled a team-high 149 yards on 10 attempts and three scores, while Daniel racked up 120 yards on eight rushes with a TD.
Putnam County quarterback Branan Griffin also played sharp, completing 12-of-13 pass attempts for 168 yards. DJ Bland had team highs with six catches and 72 receiving yards.
War Eagles’ freshman Jayson Smith led the defense in tackles with six. The 6-foot-2, 170-pound strong safety also had two tackles for loss against the Patriots.
Overall, Pope said he was pleased with the win, but knows his group isn’t playing their best brand of football yet.
“We’ve still got to improve on some technique and some fundamental- type stuff,” he said.“Our kids play with a lot of effort on both sides of the ball. They make up for the mistakes because of that. As long as they will continue to do that, we’ll continue to be able to overcome some things. “We’ve got to play a lot cleaner and get better, because when you play good competition—teams that are fundamentally sound and have just as many athletes as you do—you’re going to be in trouble. We've got to continue to play better. Our kids play hard, though. There’s no doubt about that.”
Putnam will be at home this week in another Thursday night matchup against Glenn Hills. The Spartans (2-4, 1-2 Region 4-2A) are coming off a tough game against Butler.
The War Eagles routed Glenn Hills 63-7 last season in Augusta; however, Pope doesn’t want his team to overlook this Spartans’ squad, coached by Brandon Tull.
“Just glancing at the film, the number-one thing is they beat Westside, and Westside is a solid football team. I don’t care what the scoreboard says,” Pope said. “They’re very young, Westside is, and Glenn Hills beat them, so that ought to be an alert in itself. Already, you can see that they’ve got the capability of making plays. They’ve got a couple of nice receivers to complement their quarterback, who is a three-year starter. He can throw it around to those receivers, so we’ve got to be disciplined in our coverages. We’ve got to line up and block them up front, too, because they’ve got good size.”
The War Eagles are currently locked in a three-way tie with Thomson (4-1, 2-0 Region 4-2A) and Laney (5-0, 2-0 Region 4-2A) atop the Region 4-AA standings. They will face the Bulldogs on the road (Oct. 21) and the Wildcats at home (Oct. 28).