Putnam County faced a 4th-and-5 situation against Laney late in the fourth quarter last Friday. The War Eagles were trailing the Wildcats 26-20 with just over a minute left.
That’s when War Eagles’ wide receiver Jalon Kilgore took a snap out of the wildcat formation and ran right through Laney’s defenders, almost untouched to score the gametying touchdown.
Putnam placekicker Andrew Hildreth then tacked on the PAT, giving the War Eagles a 27-26 lead. He then kicked it deep as the Wildcats got one more chance. However, Putnam County was able to force a turnover on downs to secure the victory.
PCHS fifth-year head coach Shaun Pope said his team showed a lot of resiliency against Laney, especially after a crushing 27-3 loss to Thomson the Friday before.
“Our kids really responded well,” Pope said. “All night long our kids just kept fighting. What I was most proud of, the week before we were in a similar situation, a close game, it was tight, and we made some mistakes. It kind of fell apart, a little bit. Well, this week we were in the same position, and even though there were a couple of minutes to go in the game, our kids kept fighting and believing … and I think we grew up a lot, even in one week.”
The contest started with a pair of turnovers for both teams.
War Eagles’ freshman quarterback Branan Griffin threw one of his two INTs on the opening drive. They then regained possession on a fumble recovery a few minutes later and put together a scoring drive that resulted in a made field goal by Hildreth. The War Eagles led 3-0 with just under three minutes left in the first quarter.
The Wildcats coughed up the ball again on the ensuing kickoff and Putnam County recovered it. The War Eagles then drove down the field and DJ Bland capped off the drive with a 3-yard TD.
After trailing 10-0 at the end of the first, Laney would respond in the second quarter. Wildcats’ junior quarterback DJ Daggett broke off a long run, scoring from 50 yards out, although the PAT sailed wide left.
Griffin’s final INT came on Putnam County’s next possession, and it was returned for a TD. Daggett then rushed for a successful 2-point conversion, giving Laney a 14-10 lead.
Hildreth’s leg came in clutch for the War Eagles, though, as he nailed another field goal with three minutes left in the second quarter, leaving the Wildcats clinging to a 14-13 advantage at halftime.
Pope said Hildreth’s effort was vital to the War Eagles’ success on Friday.
“We had a couple of drives where we had a chance to score TDs, but penalties set us back, a little bit. Andrew stepped up big, though,” Pope said. “He hit some big field goals.”
Laney started out the third quarter with the ball, but Putnam came up on the receiving end of a fumble. The War Eagles began their drive at the Wildcats’ 4-yard line and senior running back Tamarion Peters would score a few plays later from two yards out.
The huge special teams play gave Putnam County a 20-14 lead over Laney, but the Wildcats tied the game up at 20 midway through the third quarter. A missed 2-point conversion then kept the game at that score for the next few minutes until Laney’s offense drove down the field late in the third and CJ Holmes scored the go-ahead TD. However, another failed 2-point conversion kept the lead at 26-20.
Pope said he found out a lot about his team and how they handled business after dealing with adversity.
“I learned that they want to be great,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that are playing who weren’t on last year’s team. They hadn’t been in a situation like they had the last couple of weeks. They didn’t respond well last week, but took coaching and correction this week. They learned how to respond and be great when the pressure’s on. That was the biggest thing we learned this week. We’ve got some kids that really care.”
The War Eagles (7-2, 5-2 Region 4-AA) will play Washington County (4-5, 4-2 Region 4-AA) in Sandersville this Thursday at 7:30 p.m.The game was originally scheduled for Friday but got moved up a day due to a GHSA referee shortage.
Led by senior running back Dontavius Braswell, with more than 800 yards and 13 TDs in 2022, the Golden Hawks are coming off a 35-6 rout of Josey on Friday. The 5-foot-11, 200-pound, bruiser-type back is currently committed to South Carolina, where he and Kilgore are slated to be college teammates next season.
Pope highlighted he has a lot of respect for Washington County and how its offense runs around Braswell and quarterback Morgan Jones.
“They’re as big and as athletic, probably, if not more, than anybody in our region. That includes Thomson and Laney, among the other teams in our league,” Pope said. “It’s going to be a tough task for us. Their quarterback, Morgan Jones, he’s a dual threat, to say the least. He throws it really well and is very athletic. We can’t let him out of the pocket. It’s going to be a tough challenge for us. Like I said, they’re probably the biggest and most athletic team we’ve seen all year.”