Putnam County (4-2, 3-0 Region 4-AA) has been a run-first team all season, although its passing game shined on Friday night as the War Eagles defeated Westside-Augusta 28-15 at Al Reaves Field.
Junior quarterback Jamarion Robertson completed 6-of-12 pass attempts for 156 yards and a career-high three touchdowns. He also rushed for 35 yards on six carries in Friday’s win.
Putnam head coach Joel Harvin said Robertson took a huge step this week in terms of leading the team.
“We’ve been practicing with him at quarterback in prior weeks,” Harvin said. “We called a few more explosive plays and it made things easier for him as far as him not having to look so far across the field to read different [coverages]. It really helped him. He stepped in and moved the offense.”
Robertson spread the ball around to several different targets, with senior Kaleb Crawford leading the way with three receptions for 103 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore R.J. Hines also had a 29-yard touchdown reception and fellow sophomore Jayson Smith had two big-time catches for 24 yards.
Harvin mentioned Smith was huge in third-down situations and he helped move the chains when needed.
“Jayson is another guy that I would talk about who had multiple third-and-long catches to get a first down,” Harvin said. “He was jumping over guys and catching the ball. He had another great game.”
The focal point of Putnam’s offense is running the football, but Westside stymied it on Friday night. Despite the War Eagles rushing for just over 100 yards, the Patriots did a great job of setting the edge and making them throw the ball. Luckily, Robertson and a few others stepped up.
Robertson led in rushing, but Rashod Daniel scored the team’s other touchdown on the ground for 24 yards. The War Eagles had eight different players combine for 104 rushing yards on Friday.
Harvin pointed out that Westside’s defense made it tough for his offense to do what it does best.
“Give all of the credit to Westside. Man, those guys did a great job of stopping the run and forcing us to throw the football,” Harvin said. “So, we were able to capitalize in the passing game.”
The Patriots scored first and took a 7-0 lead after quarterback Xavier Goss led the offense down the field. He reached the end zone from a few yards out, which set the tone for the game on Friday.
However, Putnam entered halftime with a 9-7 advantage and never gave up the lead. The War Eagles came out in the second half firing on all cylinders, powered by Robertson and the passing game.
Putnam led 28-7 late in the fourth when Goss scored his second touchdown, although it was too late.
Westside moved the ball effectively with running back Jeanarion Kamga, who rushed for 203 yards, but he didn’t reach the end zone. The War Eagles also held Goss to minus-one rushing yards.
Putnam kept the pressure on Goss as Kamga carried the Patriots’ offense, but they were basically one-dimensional. Although Goss had his team’s only two scores, he finished with negative yardage.
Overall, Harvin highlighted that his defense played well and his guys overcame some early struggles.
“Westside has a great football team and their running back is one of the best we’ve seen all year long,” Harvin said. “We got off to a slow start, we didn’t have many possessions in the first half, but in the second, we knew we might face the same thing, so we needed to capitalize on every possession we got. I’m proud of our guys for the way we came out in the second half and made some adjustments as coaches and that we put our guys in the right spot to win. It was a pretty good game.”