Putnam County’s football team hit the gridiron hard last week, hosting nearly a dozen teams for a two-day padded camp.
Dodge County, Sequoyah, Northside (Warner Robins), Baldwin, Laney, Hawkinsville, Locust Grove, Salem, Warren County, and Hancock Central joined the War Eagles at Putnam County’s new practice fields behind the school.
More than 1,000 people attended, including coaches, trainers, spectators, and players. Most of the visiting teams stayed at nearby Rock Eagle.
Putnam played several teams and performed well against Northside, Hawkinsville, and Dodge County, among others. Putnam head coach Joel Harvin said he thought his team improved after facing tough competition.
He considered his team’s scrimmage against Northside a particularly good measuring stick for his guys.
“We didn’t know what to expect or who was going to step up because some kids had played last year, some didn’t, and some were young,” Harvin said. “We wondered how they would grow over the offseason, but many of those questions were answered at the camp.
“When you go against a team like Northside, you wonder if your kids will back down or step up. We had some 10th graders going up against bigger schools. How are they going to handle it?
Well, those guys stepped up, and they didn’t back down.”
Younger players, including Elijah Dunn, Omarion Butts, Rodney Hines, and others, made plays against Northside.
Veterans such as Tamarion Robertson, Branan Griffin, and Rashod Daniel also helped lead the way.
Putnam wrapped up its action-packed summer schedule, which also featured a few 7-on-7 camps. The War Eagles began regular practice this week to prepare and will next play two scrimmages.
Putnam will scrimmage at West Laurens on Aug. 2 and will face Washington County on Aug. 9 in Sandersville.
“[Camps] give us a good look going into the season, [seeing our guys] in helmets and shoulder pads. A padded camp is about the closest thing you can get to a scrimmage,” Harvin said. “We got good work out of it, going against pretty big teams who gave us a good challenge, and it let us see what we can improve on.”
Putnam County will officially open its 2024 schedule on Aug. 16 at Greene County.
Harvin is excited the season is almost here and is ready to see his players reap the benefits of their hard work.
“Coming out of year one, there were some obvious things we needed to fix about our program. We didn’t get to test those things out in the spring because we didn’t practice, but we had a great offseason in the weight room, and kids bought in,” he said. “That’s how a first year usually is. You’ve just got to work out the kinks.”