Last week, Putnam County football conducted self-scouting and prepared for future opponents during its first bye.
The War Eagles also had a few days off to rest and recuperate after playing five consecutive Fridays in a row.
“Well, basically we took the week to really focus on us, worked on the small things that we probably needed to fix about this time of year to get ready for region play,” Putnam County head coach Joel Harvin said. “Just trying to work on some physicality, tackling, and other things that we may not have been able to hit on until this point since the summer, because we’ve been more focused on other teams, but it was a good week for us. We got some guys back healthy. We also started preparing for McNair and other teams in our region.”
Putnam County’s region opener is this Friday against McNair. The War Eagles (2-0) will host the Mustangs (1-3).
Last season’s matchup between these two teams was a shootout, with Putnam County winning 45-37. The Mustangs almost pulled out the victory behind a strong performance from former quarterback Jeremy Victor.
Victor passed for 315 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 147 yards and a trio of scores. He has since graduated, but new starter Keyuntae Phillips is another dual-threat, who leads McNair with 791 rushing yards and five touchdowns this season. He has also passed for 570 yards, five touchdowns, and five interceptions.
Harvin doesn’t want his team to take Phillips and the Mustangs lightly.
“They can be very explosive on offense. They have a a quarterback that is probably the best athlete that we’ve seen all year long, who can strike like lightning,” Harvin said. “He can take the thing 80 yards to the house in the blink of an eye, so we’ve got to do a good job of corralling him. They’ve got some big bodies that they put up front on the defensive side, which can be a challenge for us running the football, and they’re very scary. I’ve had some restless nights thinking about them. So it’s going to be a challenge for us.”
Harvin feels his team is ready, though. He said the win over Haralson County on Sept. 6 was a morale booster.
“We do have a little bit of momentum going in, and the kids believe in what we are doing,” the third-year coach said. “We’re still trying to get our identity as well on both sides of the ball, and we just look forward to the challenge. We’re ready for region play. This is an important time of the year, so I think our kids are ready.”
Putnam County and McNair will kick off at 7:30 p.m. this Friday at Al Reaves Field in Eatonton.