In its Homecoming game last Friday, Putnam County (5-2, 4-0 Region 4-AA) routed Glenn Hills (1-7, 0-5) to extend the War Eagles’ current winning streak to five.
Putnam took care of business on both sides of the ball, easily defeating the Spartans, 47-12.
Putnam County head coach Joel Harvin said his team got off to a bad start but recovered quickly.
“Well, we started off slow and didn’t really execute on our first series,” Harvin said. “We were fortunate to get a pick-six off a tunnel screen by Rashod Daniel to get us going and out of a funk.”
On the play, two War Eagle defensive linemen pressured the Glenn Hills’ quarterback, who tossed a pass off his back foot, and Daniel jumped the route and ran untouched 35 yards into the end zone.
However, the Spartans quickly answered as quarterback Caymon Edgar tossed a long touchdown pass. His receiver beat Putnam’s defensive backs in coverage and came down with the ball for a score.
According to Harvin, there was some miscommunication in the War Eagles’ secondary on the play.
“We gave up a blown coverage play,” he said. “They were able to score a deep touchdown on some miscommunication issues in the back half, but then we got that stuff fixed and moved on.”
Following that score, Putnam played relatively mistake-free for the rest of the game. The War Eagles dominated both lines of scrimmage, which helped their run game and ability to get after Edgar.
Putnam running back Omarion Butts had himself a game, rushing for 67 yards on seven attempts with two touchdowns. The sophomore averaged a career-high 9.6 yards per carry against Glenn Hills.
Bryson Foster also had a productive night with 57 yards and a score. Daniel also ran the ball once for a 41-yard gain as it went for a touchdown, capping off the rushing scores for the War Eagles.
Putnam quarterback Jamarion Robertson was also sharp, completing 4-of-5 pass attempts for 50 yards and a touchdown, with freshman running back Blake Williams hauling in that particular passing score.
Harvin acknowledged it was good to see his offense thrive, but also spoke highly of his defense.
“We’re trying to be a little bit more physical than what we have been in the past. Each week, get more and more physical by trying to get the other team off the field as fast as we can,” Harvin said.
“For the most part, our guys played a good football game. We were in the right positions and were able to make enough plays to keep Glenn Hills out of the end zone enough to put it away early.”
The War Eagles’ defense held the Spartans to just 257 yards of total offense and allowed them to only convert 2-of-8 third downs. The defense also had two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns, with Daniel’s in the first quarter while junior Cory Foster had a 90-yard pick-six in the fourth quarter.
Putnam now enters a bye week and it comes at a good time. The War Eagles have the chance to get healthy before the final three games of the season, starting Oct. 20, against Thomson.
After facing the reigning Class AA state champion Bulldogs next week at home, the War Eagles travel to Augusta to play Laney on Oct. 27 before returning to face Washington County on Nov. 3 in Eatonton.
Putnam and Thomson both sit at the top of the region standings with 4-0 records, so next Friday’s matchup will determine which team will take first place. The Bulldogs are also off this week.
Harvin reflected on how important this bye week is for his team and how they’ll take advantage of it.
“The number-one thing is to get healthy. Make sure we’ve got most of our guys at 100 percent or as close to 100 percent as we can get,” Harvin said.
“These last three football games are going to be very physical. We’re going to need everybody we’ve got to get the wins and make sure to take a good look at ourselves. We need to self-scout and see what we can fix. That’ll get us ready for this last stretch.”