The rain may have been drizzling during Putnam County’s first-round playoff game against Toombs County last Friday, but that didn’t stop the War Eagles from pouring it on the Bulldogs from the first kick.
They didn’t let the weather bother them and defeated the Bulldogs 30-6 to advance to the second round of the GHSA Class 2A state playoffs.
Fifth-year head coach Shaun Pope believed his team played well and was able to pull away by capitalizing on turnovers.
“We were very opportunistic early, because we didn’t slow them down for a while, and they hit some plays on us,” Pope said. “They turned the ball over early in the game, and that set us up for some scores. I’m proud of the way our guys played against a very physical Toombs County team.”
After multiple changes of possession, Putnam County struck first with just under eight minutes left in the first quarter.
Sophomore running back Rashod Daniel made a couple of defenders miss just outside the red zone and scampered the remaining 20 yards into the end zone to put the War Eagles up 7-0.
Daniel had a handful of great runs throughout the contest, and Pope acknowledged how much he means to the team’s success.
“Rashod is a great football player and young man. He works hard in the classroom and weight room and just keeps getting better and better,” Pope said. “He runs the ball hard and with a great pad level. He’s explosive, strong and really tough to bring down, which I think people saw on his long touchdown run last week.”
On the ensuing possession, senior Armon Webster was able to jump a route and intercept the ball for the War Eagles’ first takeaway of the game.
Just 20 seconds later, South Carolina commit Jalon Kilgore ran the ball in from 24 yards out and put Putnam County up 13-0 after a missed extra point.
That score would stand until Kilgore scored his second rushing touchdown of the game with just over 11 minutes left to go in the second quarter.
After going up 20-0, the War Eagles were able to capitalize one more time before the half with a field goal after recovering a muffed punt by the Bulldogs.
Toombs started the second half with a touchdown but would falter the rest of the contest after Putnam answered through the air as Kilgore found Tyson Waller for six on the ensuing drive.
The fourth quarter saw no scoring, and the War Eagles’ defense gave the team more momentum heading into its next matchup against the defending state champions.
This Friday, Putnam County will travel to Fitzgerald to take on the undefeated Purple Hurricane – the same program that knocked the War Eagles out of the playoffs last season.
Pope understands the test ahead will be difficult but has faith in his guys to go out and be competitive for the team’s chance at redemption.
“I think both teams graduated some really good seniors from last year. They’re similar to us in the way that they brought a lot of guys back on offense to whereas we’ve brought back a lot of guys on defense,” Pope said. “We’re both running the same kind of offense, so your possessions are going to be limited because both teams are going to keep the clock running. It’s going to be a physical, hard-nosed game.”