Putnam County is looking for answers after suffering a 42-28 home loss to rival Morgan County this past Friday.
The War Eagles are off to a 0-2 start for the second consecutive season, but head coach Joel Harvin doesn’t want his players to panic.
“We’re still trying to find our identity,” Harvin said. “Coaches are still trying to figure out our kids. That’s what you get when you have a newer defensive coordinator and offensive coordinator. We are still trying to gel.”
Harvin’s team has been competitive in its first two games. Putnam fought until the end against Greene County in week one but came up short. Morgan outlasted the War Eagles in the second half this past week.
Putnam trailed 21-14 at the half but had momentum after a quick touchdown before the end of the second quarter. However, a disastrous third quarter doomed the War Eagles as the Dogs came out firing on the first drive.
Morgan running back Christian Monfort broke off a long run but fumbled near the end zone. Before several War Eagles defenders could hop on the ball, Dogs’ fullback Brody O’Neal recovered it for six.
Morgan’s defense forced a three-and-out on the next possession. Quarterback Davis Strickland then fired a 44-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Elder, extending the Dogs’ lead to 35-14 with 6:25 left in the third quarter.
Putnam’s next drive spilled into the fourth quarter, ending with a short score from running back Rashod Daniel. Morgan’s offense couldn’t be stopped, though. The Dogs marched down the field as Monfort scored his second touchdown of the night.
Trailing 42-20 with 9:05 left, Putnam’s offense responded and scored in three plays. Quarterback Jamarion Robertson took the snap, scrambled to his right past defenders, and tip-toed past the pylon for the rushing score.
Regardless, the damage was done as the War Eagles couldn’t recover from the third quarter. They played well through the first two periods and better in the fourth quarter but haven’t been able to put a full game together.
“I’m not completely disappointed,” Harvin said. “I feel like we had a good showing on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively, man, Morgan has a great offense, and they’ve got a lot of good-skilled guys who are well-coached. We just came up a little short on the defensive side of the ball when needed, but we will fix that. That’s stuff that we can fix as coaches. Our effort is there, so I’m not disappointed with our guys.”
Morgan struck first in the opening quarter, with Monfort scoring a two-yard touchdown, but Putnam took the lead on the next drive.
Robertson completed passes to Bill Waters and Jason Clemons while Daniel moved the chains on the ground. Bryce Brabham then caught a pass inside the Morgan 10, setting up a score by Daniel a few plays later.
The War Eagles held a 7-6 advantage into the second quarter before Strickland completed a 29-yard strike to Elder.
The Dogs converted a two-point conversion as Strickland found tight end Drew Ainslie wide open.
Morgan defensive back Ty Tillery picked off a Robertson pass on the next drive and returned it to the end zone.
Later in the quarter, Putnam got the ball back with 1:06 left in the first half, and Daniel broke off a 74-yard run. The 5-foot-10, 215-pound running back scored on the next play from two yards out to make it a one-score game.
Daniel led the charge offensively for the War Eagles, rushing for 165 yards and three touchdowns. Robertson completed 4-of-6 pass attempts for 52 yards and rushed for 33 yards with a score.
Harvin hopes his team can put together a full game this week.
“It seems like right now, we need to just work on finishing games. We’re beating ourselves,” he said. “We threw a pick-six that set us back, but we came back out. We’re not blaming anybody, but I take the blame for that. As far as coaching, we can just continue to keep working and finish these games. It’s a grind for us.”