Putnam County had one of its best years on the gridiron in program history last season.
The War Eagles won 12 games last season, tying a school record. They also made it to the Elite Eight round of the GHSA Class AA state playoffs in 2021.
Despite having so much success last season, Putnam County has to replace 11 seniors in 2022.
Still, the War Eagles return a ton of talent for this upcoming season.
“Our work ethic has been tremendous,” said PCHS head coach Shaun Pope. “We did lose some great kids both character-wise and athletic-wise, but this has been the most business-like spring since I have been here. We were really concerned about leadership and who would step up. But it really hadn’t been one or two guys, it’s been a collective group that has stepped up.”
Pope thinks that Fitzgerald left a ‘bad taste’ with his players after they were defeated by the Purple Hurricanes last season in the quarterfinals.
“They knew how close we were,” said Pope. “I think that seeing (Fitzgerald) win state caused them to return with that business-like mindset. They seem to want to try and finish things off this year with a title. A couple of players have even told me that we have unfinished business, so I believe they are determined to have an even better finish than what we had last season.”
During the offseason, college coaches from around the country have been visiting Punam County High School, including Georgia head coach Kirby Smart.
The returning War Eagles watched nine of their former teammates sign with colleges this past February at a ceremony. So, they know what it takes to succeed.
Pope stated that his players have handled the pressure well since the end of last season.
“We want our players to be great young men first,” said Pope. “We are fortunate to have really good kids. In fact, our best football players are our young men. It’s starting to show in our program.”
The PCHS coaching is teaching their kids to set an example for others, while also evaluating them during the offseason.
Pope said that he’s seen a lot of change over the last year in terms of work ethic and talent.
The fifth-year head coach referred to a conversation that he and defensive coordinator Derrick Arrington had.
“We noticed that guys have gotten a lot better, especially from a talent standpoint,” said Pope. “Also, our younger guys are stepping up.”
One of the biggest problems the War Eagles faced heading into spring practice was depth.
However, the PCHS coaching staff is starting to fill some holes as spring comes to a head.
Pope believes that those problems will be solved by the end of summer workouts.
“After a week and a couple days, we are starting to develop some depth,” said Pope. “We knew that we had some guys coming back, but that’s what happens at a small school like ours, it’s harder to replace guys. So, we’ve really had players step up and we’ve found some depth at different positions.”
Putnam County wraps up spring practice towards the end of the week and will scrimmage former region rival Jefferson County Friday night on the road.
The War Eagles and Warriors will square off in