Oconee County and Putnam County are both winless, so Friday’s matchup in Watkinsville is huge for both teams.
The Warriors have played a tough schedule so far against Class 4A’s No. 2-ranked North Oconee and a Class 5A program in Clarke Central. The good news is they have been in both contests until the very end.
Meanwhile, Putnam had a bye in Week 1 and opened up its 2023 season with a 33-13 loss at Baldwin last Friday.
Penalties and turnovers cost the War Eagles against the Braves, who are a Class 4A team.
Oconee County hasn’t started 0-2 since 2013, so the Warriors will be looking for a win on Friday night, and Putnam County head coach Joel Harvin knows it will be a dogfight for his team.
“They’ve got a lot of tradition there at Oconee. They’ve had a lot of good football teams and have one this year, too,” Harvin said. “The teams that they’ve played are pretty good teams as well. It’s not like they’ve been out of any game or anything like that, so both of those games could have gone either way. They could very well be sitting at 2–0 right now. They’re a good team. We’re expecting a battle on Friday night in what is a pretty good atmosphere at their stadium.”
Last year, Oconee bullied Putnam all night long. The Warriors’ offensive and defensive fronts were the difference makers. The War Eagles were also held scoreless for the first time in a long time.
Offensively, Oconee County relied on its physical ground game and LSU commit Whit Weeks to lead. On defense, the Warriors limited the big plays and held Putnam to a season-low 126 total yards.
This season, Oconee is averaging 21.5 points per game and is led by junior quarterback Titus Watkins. The first-year starter is a dual-threat who has carried the ball 36 times in just two games.
Defensively, however, the Warriors are struggling, giving up an average of 33.5 points per game. They are also having a hard time stopping the run. Clarke Central racked up 216 yards on the ground against them last week.
Putnam County also struggled against the run last Friday as Baldwin scored four times via the ground. However, the War Eagles’ rushing attack is their strong suit on offense. As a team, Putnam combined to rush for 219 yards on 41 attempts, averaging 5.3 yards per carry against the Braves.
So, Friday’s matchup is bound to be an entertaining game between two teams that run the ball well. Harvin expects Oconee to be just as physical this year and knows his players need to be ready.
“Looking at the film from last year, they were a defensive-led team. The offense was also still pretty good,” Harvin said. “But now, if you look at things, it’s flipped. Offensively, they’re pretty strong, and defensively, they’re very well-coached. They get to the ball and are aggressive.
“They are a physical team, have a lot of players in the program and have good depth all across the board. It’s going to be a helluva challenge for us. We’ve got our work cut out for us against a great team.”