With a 35-0 victory in the first game of the season, one would expect the air around the War Eagles to be celebratory. However, that was not the case after Putnam’s victory over Hancock last Friday.
Defensive Coordinator Emmet Clower said while the win was wonderful, there were a number of problems with the performance on the field.
“We didn’t play really well. We made a ton of mistakes, and we will have to play better for the rest of our schedule,” Clower said.
Clower said the team was not following through on their preset responsibilities on the field and were using individual talents to make up for lapses in coverage.
“We’ve got to work on carrying out our assignments and not relying on our athletic ability. We have to work on discipline,” Clower said. “We coach them to take certain steps and to read what the offense is giving them, and they were not doing that Friday. We definitely have to fix this before Dublin.”
But for Putnam fans, who outnumbered Hancock fans when the game began, the win was a good start to a new season.
Seniors Tre Martin and Marquez Styles each scored two touchdowns with the remaining score coming in the third from a Nick Burke pass to Carl Buckner for a short run into the end zone. Marteze Waller had two touchdown runs called back because of penalties during the game.
On the positive side, Clower said the War Eagles had multiple players with tackling stats which showed the whole team was involved in plays.
This week, the War Eagles will be at Al Reaves Stadium to face Dublin High School at 7:30 p.m.
