Putnam County quarterback Ethan Whatley stepped up Friday night in a region game against Utopian Academy.
Whatley rushed for 78 yards and five touchdowns on seven carries in a 48-0 blowout of the Eagles. The senior quarterback for the War Eagles has now totaled 232 rushing yards and nine scores over the last two games.
“Ethan has really stepped into a leadership role for us and is a guy who we can count on,” Putnam County head coach Joel Harvin said. “We’re able to do a lot of things with him, and a lot of people don’t realize that Ethan can go back and punt for us. He’s also on the kickoff team. He’s not your prototypical quarterback.”
Utopian Academy never had a chance against the War Eagles with Whatley at quarterback. The 5-foot-11 senior led the offense to score in the opening minute of the game and was up 28-0 at the end of the first quarter.
“He’s just a greedy, hard-nosed kid that plays hard and has done a good job on what we call our heavy package of filling in for Branan Griffin,” Harvin added of Whatley. “He’s taken control of it and made a lot of good plays for us, so we’re trying to keep him as healthy as we can because he is a vital part of our offense.”
Putnam County’s defense shut down the Eagles, while the offense sustained drives. The War Eagles had 10 different ball carriers, who totaled 28 attempts for 213 yards and six touchdowns in the win.
Whatley had the most carries, followed by Caleb Reeves, who rushed for 47 yards on three attempts with a touchdown. Elijah Dunn also had three carries but gained 28 yards against Utopian Academy this past week.
Whatley commanded the offense effectively, and Putnam County led the Eagles 48-0 at halftime. The War Eagles got their other touchdown on the defensive side of the ball, as Steven Grandt recovered a fumble for six.
Harvin wanted his team to start fast and throw the first punch. He was also pleased that many younger guys got valuable snaps in the second half, thanks to the fast start led by Whatley and a dominant defensive effort.
“We were able to really just be aggressive at the very beginning and capitalize on some of the mistakes that they made,” Harvin said. “We actually had a scoop and score on defense, so we got a defensive touchdown, which I think is the first of the season. That’s always a positive, and we were fortunate enough to get out of it healthy.
“We got a lot of young guys playing time. They got a lot of reps on Friday night. We’re just continuing to push and improve after a tough loss to Social Circle. This was good for us, and it was a team win.”
Putnam County will return to action this Friday at home against Towers.