Putnam County High School (PCHS) boys’ soccer (15-0-2) continued its winning streak on April 14, with a 4-2 shootout victory at home against Toombs County that set up the War Eagles to face the Rutland Hurricanes last Thursday in the second round of state championship playoffs.
After a disappointing early exit from postseason play last season, the Putnam team has remained focused all year on winning the 2023 Class 4-AA championship and was ready for Rutland, shutting it out 6-0 to advance to the Elite 8 of GHSA state playoffs.
Putnam goaltender Preston Wilson continued to play big in the net, while fellow seniors Brad Reeves and Bernabe Meraz controlled the defensive tempo of the match.
Meanwhile, the offense for Putnam also performed to perfection as they out-maneuvered Rutland’s defense. Quick thinking and teamwork led Putnam’s offense, with the first goal coming from junior Elijah Watson off a ricocheted kick by Edwith Lopez.
Putnam would not slow down, keeping the momentum going by scoring three more goals in the first half, including a pair by junior Bryan Canales, followed by a single from Andrew Hildreth.
After halftime and with a few substitutions on the War Eagles’ side of the field, Putnam struck quickly to reach the 6-0 final, including a goal by senior midfielder Jermaine Nelson. Wilson preserved the shutout with two big saves with minutes to go.
The win set up a quarterfinals date for the Putnam team this past Tuesday (after press time) at home versus Union County (11-3), which beat Walker High School 1-0 in a double overtime game, also on April 20.
Since the 2016-‘17 season (including no championship awarded in 2019-‘20 due to the pandemic), Putnam County has played in two Elite 8s, a Final 4 and finished runner-up in 2018.