Putnam County (0-3) tried to mount a fourth-quarter comeback last Friday against Laney (2-1) but came up short.
The War Eagles trailed by two scores entering the final period, except they didn’t give up. A pair of touchdowns got them within striking distance, but their effort wasn’t enough as the Wildcats held on to win 32-25.
“You could’ve easily said we were done with at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but our kids battled back and gave us a chance to tie the game up at the end,” Putnam head coach Joel Harvin said. “We came up a little short on a fourth down play, and [Laney] was able to get out of there, but I am proud of our kids.”
It was a tight contest in the first half, with Laney leading 14-10 at the intermission. The Wildcats rushing attack, led by Carl Holmes, took flight in the third quarter, scoring two touchdowns to extend their lead to 26-10.
Laney’s Chimera Sturgis tossed a pass to Jamar Thompkins for six to start the fourth quarter. The Wildcats tried for a two-point conversion and were unsuccessful but held a 32-10 lead with just over nine minutes left.
Putnam senior quarterback Jamarion Robertson led the offense down the field. The War Eagles scored around the five-minute mark, and Robertson converted the two-point conversion, cutting Laney’s lead to 32-18.
On the ensuing possession, a costly fumble by the Wildcats gave Putnam’s sideline some life. War Eagles’ defender R.J. Hines returned the fumble to the end zone, and after the extra point, they trailed by seven points.
Putnam got the ball back once more, but couldn’t move the chains on fourth down, ending the threat. The Wildcats ran out the clock and survived a close scare, improving to 2-1, while the War Eagles fell to 0-3 on the year.
Robertson led the team in rushing with 138 yards on 13 carries. Senior running back Rashod Daniel piled up 97 yards on 12 attempts, but he only played in the first half and didn’t return.
Harvin’s squad has faced a lot of adversity through the year’s first three games. The War Eagles have lost close games to Greene County and Laney but also battled Morgan County despite losing by 14 points.
Harvin and his staff are proud of their player but want to help them play a full four-quarter game. The second-year Putnam coach believes the first three games of the regular season provided his team with a test.
“Yeah, so I scheduled these three teams on purpose, man, because I knew they would be three good quality teams,” Harvin said. “You’re not just going to walk over them, and they’re exactly that. Greene, Morgan, and Laney are all good teams. They’re well-coached and have good players. I didn’t want to schedule a cakewalk or stuff that could give us a false sense of reality. Those guys definitely put us in our place.”
Putnam hopes to get its first win of the season against Haralson County at home. Kick-off is set for 7:30 p.m.