Putnam County’s football team will travel to Dexter to scrimmage West Laurens at 7:30 p.m. this Friday.
The War Eagles’ scrimmage against the Raiders will be the first of two this preseason. They will face former region foe and long-time rival Washington County on Aug. 9 before their official 2024 season opener on Aug. 16 at Greene County.
Putnam County head coach Joel Harvin said the two scrimmages would will his players to put on the pads and face real opponents in game situations.
“Outside of a few 7-on-7s and our padded camps, we’ve been going up against each other all summer,” Harvin explained. “These scrimmages will give our guys a good opportunity to get some reps before the season starts.”
Putnam County closed up its summer practice a few weeks ago by hosting a padded camp. A dozen teams from across the state attended the camp, and the War Eagles faced multiple opponents, getting valuable reps.
“[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.”
Harvin said he learned a lot about his team during the camp. His guys faced tough competition, such as Northside from Warner Robins, a Class 6A program. They used the scrimmage as a measuring stick heading into the season.
“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 got 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. It was great to see.”
Now, Putnam County heads into its scrimmage matchup with West Laurens, which struggled last season, going 2-8.
West Laurens heavily relied on its run game, led by sophomore Ty Cummings, who returned for his junior year. Cummings rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season, but fellow sophomore Shannon Adkins is also a threat.
The duo will test the War Eagles’ defensive unit, now led by new coordinator Derrick Arrington. They’ve been working hard during the summer for Arrington, who also worked under former Putnam head coach Shaun Pope.
Defensively, West Laurens shouldn’t present Putnam County and new offensive coordinator Todd Cooper much of a challenge. The Raiders defense gave up an average of 36 points per game last year.
The War Eagles return Jamarion Robertson, Branan Griffin, and Army running back commit Rashod Daniel. On Friday night, those three and their other skill players will try to move the ball up and down the field.
Harvin is excited to see his team finally run out onto the field again to start his second season at the helm.
“The summer was good for us. Now we’re going to worry about each week and try to win each game we play,” he said. “If we can focus on each week and doing the right things, then I think it will be a good year.”