Putnam County got back in the win column Friday with a 42-13 victory over Jasper County.
The War Eagles’ offensive explosion was led by senior running back Tamarion Peters, who recorded a hat trick, rushing for three touchdowns and a total of 126 yards. Peters averaged 9.7 yards per rush attempt in Week 4 against the Hurricanes.
Putnam head coach Shaun Pope said sophomore running back Rashod Daniel and junior wide receiver Keywon Blue also had productive games for the War Eagles.
Daniel rushed for 78 yards on seven attempts with a touchdown. Blue had one reception for 27 yards and a six-yard rush.
“For the most part, it was the Tamarion Peters and Rashod Daniel show,” Pope said. “They both ran the ball well. Keywon (Blue) also had a couple of nice catches and runs. He also had a pretty good return on a kickoff. The offensive line is also getting a little better. The only disappointing thing was when we had a 4th-and-an-inch down on the (Jasper) one-yard line."
The War Eagles ran their signature power-run play in that scenario but came up short.
“It was to either score or get a first down inside the one. We didn’t get it,” Pope said. “That’s disappointing when it doesn’t happen.”
Putnam County held a 27-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. One of the War Eagles’ only defensive mistakes was on a blown jet sweep. Hurricanes’ running back Jalen Stewart burst through an open gap, rushing for an 80-yard touchdown.
Regardless, Jasper County was outmatched as the War Eagles took over the game. The second quarter was scoreless for both teams, although Putnam County added 13 points in the third quarter. The War Eagles led 40-6 entering the fourth.
Pope was proud of how his defense responded after that long-scoring play by Stewart. He also was impressed by how well some reserves down the depth chart played.
“We played a lot of guys,” Pope said. “It had nothing to do with (Jasper County), but just with what we had seen in the first two weeks. We’ve got a handful of guys that play snaps on both sides of the ball—and we’ve got to be better about playing other guys—because those ones deserve playing time. They’re working their tails off in practice, so we made a conscious effort to go in and have some guys on rotation.”
Putnam County held the Hurricanes to 216 yards of total offense. Their only other score came late in the contest as Kaidon Whidby had a seven-yard touchdown run.
Jasper quarterback Hunter Hayes was pressured all night, completing 11-of-18 pass attempts for 65 yards and an interception. The Hurricanes’ forte on offense is their run game, but outside of Stewart’s long scoring run, the War Eagles limited them. Hayes led JCHS in rushing with 101 yards on seven attempts and a score.
There were 17 PCHS defenders that recorded a tackle. Seniors Jalon Kilgore and Seth Boyer led the way with four apiece. Other seniors such as DJ Bland, Armon Webster and Brayon Farley also contributed, each totaling three tackles.
Boyer, Kemarion Griffin, Mark Little, Blake Tiller and Tre Smith all recorded tackles for a loss. Farley had the War Eagles’ only interception of the night against Jasper County.
Despite Friday night’s win, Pope said the War Eagles are not where they need to be entering region play.
“We’ve just got to continue to clean up us. We’ve got to worry about Putnam, and get Putnam better,” he said. “We’ve got to play cleaner, no penalties because we’re still committing too many of them. Just some fundamental things that we need to get better at. Another thing is, I thought last year and the year before, we put people away. We’ve got to find a way to do that. Our kids are playing hard, but we’ve got to finish drives. Last night, we had that fourth-and-a-foot, and we didn’t get it. That was on our bread-and-butter play. We’ve got to quit making those mistakes.”
Putnam County (2-1) will host Butler (2-1) next Friday at Al Reaves Field to begin Region 4-AA play. The Bulldogs are coming off a 54-12 rout of Savannah this past week.
Pope is confident his squad is ready for the region-schedule gauntlet they will face.
“Our region is known for being very athletic. You play very athletic teams,” he said. “If you’re not disciplined and fundamentally sound, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing; the opponent can stay in the game and have a chance to win.”