Putnam County (0-3) hopes to get its first win of the season this Friday against Haralson County (1-2).
This Friday’s 7:30 pm. kickoff at Al Reaves Field will be the first meeting between both teams.
The Rebels of Tallapoosa are coming off a 25-3 loss to nearby Greene County. They started their season with a 14-10 win over Mount Pisgah Christian but lost to Pike County 21-10 the following week.
Putnam coach Joel Harvin believes Haralson County will be an even matchup despite the 1-2 record.
“Well, Harralson, they’re a physical team,” Harvin said. “They’re going to run the ball right at you and force you to defend it. They’ve got good skill guys who can hurt you if you don’t play them right.”
Haralson’s physical, downhill attack can present problems to Putnam’s defense. The War Eagles have had trouble stopping the run in their three previous games, so they hope to improve this week.
Putnam’s defense is giving up an average of 34 points per game, but a positive is that Haralson’s offense averages only 12.3 points per contest. Regardless, it will be another test for the War Eagles.
“Defensively, we’ve got to figure out our identity on that side of the ball,” Harvin said. “We need to figure out what we’re good at. So, to be honest, I think we’ve got a good idea of where we need to be to put our kids in the right position to ensure we are successful. We’re going to iron that out.”
After three weeks, Putnam has found its offensive identity, though. The War Eagles are a ground-and-pound team that likes to play with physicality. They like to pound the rock most of the time.
Putnam averages 24.3 points per game, which is better than last season’s offensive start.
“Offensively, we’ve got our identity, and I think everybody we play will probably tell you that we’re a physical team,” Harvin said. “Each week, we’ve gotten better on the offensive side of the ball as far as running the ball, and we’re a run-first team. We’ve got two guys back there that can run the offense.”
Harvin was referring to quarterback Jamarion Robertson and running back Rashod Daniel.
However, the second-year Putnam coach also said the unit has succeeded due to its offensive line.
“We’ve got to eliminate the turnovers on the offensive side. We like to run the clock, though,” Harvin said. “We’re not what people would call a sexy offense; we’re just smashmouth. We will get five or six yards, and we averaged six yards a carry this past game. So, offensively, I think we’re kind of clicking where our guys are getting [yardage], and our offensive line is our strong suit.”
Putnam hopes to improve on each side of the ball and get its first win of the season on Friday.