Putnam County (1-3) returns to the gridiron Friday night to open up region play against McNair (2-2).
This Friday’s meeting at Al Reaves Field will be the first between the War Eagles and the Mustangs.
Putnam comes into the game following a bye week, which the War Eagles used to get healthy.
“The biggest thing was getting our legs back up under us a little bit,” Putnam County head coach Joel Harvin said. “We had a couple of guys banged up and planned this out to have the off week right before region play started because we wanted to be as healthy as we could.”
The War Eagles need starting running back Rashod Daniel to be ready for McNair on Friday. This year, the 5-foot-10, 215-pound senior and Army commit is one of the team’s leading rushers.
“It was a well-needed off week,” Harvin added. “We got to make adjustments on both sides of the ball.”
McNair travels to Eatonton from Atlanta with an even record. The Mustangs started the season with a 23-6 loss to Temple, followed by a 7-6 win over KIPP Atlanta and a 33-0 victory over Midtown. Last Friday, they lost 31-14 to Bremen heading into this week’s matchup with Putnam.
McNair is led by 6-foot-3, 235-pound senior quarterback Jeremy Victor, a dual threat on the field. Victor has a strong arm and can extend plays with his legs, so Putnam must be ready to defend him.
“He throws the ball extremely well,” Harvin said of Victor. “He’s tough to bring down because he’s such a bigger kid. Watching the tape, it takes two or three guys to bring him down.”
The Mustangs have several skill players who can make a difference, but Harvin wants his defense to focus on improving. He said his team spent the off week getting players “in the right spot.”
“We’ve kind of changed a couple of things that we do defensively and are trying to get the guys who are athletes in the right spot. [We’re] trying to make things simpler for everybody and let our athletes be athletes,” Harvin explained. “So, we’ve simplified things that we do on the defensive side of the ball.”
McNair’s offense averages 15 points per game, while Putnam’s defense has given up 19 points per contest. The War Eagles are trying to improve defensively, and this Friday’s game will be a good test.
On the other hand, Putnam’s offense hopes to get the run game back on track with Daniel returning. The War Eagles will try to establish the ground game early against a stout McNair defense.
Daniel and junior tailback Bill Waters provide Putnam’s offensive unit with a solid one-two punch.
“We’re comfortable [coming out of the bye week],” Harvin said. “We had a lot of questions going into it.”
Putnam and McNair will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Friday night at Al Reaves Field in Eatonton.