About The Eatonton messenger. (Eatonton, Ga.) 18??-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 2025)
B2| THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2025 The Eatonton Aessenger www.msgrnews.com ‘Dogs favored over War Eagles in rivalry game Lance McCurley lance@msgrnews.com Putnam County (1-0) and Morgan County (1-0) will renew their rivalry Friday night at Bill Corry Stadium in Madison. Last season, the Dogs defeated the War Eagles 42-28 in a shootout. Morgan is favored to win 48-16 this year, according to the Massey Ratings predic tion by On3.com. Regardless, Morgan County head coach Clint Jenkins knows facing Putnam County will be tough. The Dogs won 56-13 at Warren County last Saturday, so it will be a quick turnaround to face the War Eagles six days later. “Overall, I think they’ve defi nitely improved from last year, especially defensively,” Jenkins said. “They did a great job of getting after Greene County last week and they play well within that defensive system.” Putnam defeated Greene County 42-15 in its home opener. The War Eagles’ defense stymied the Tigers’ rushing attack outside of a few plays, and wreaked havoc LANCE McCURLEY/File photo Morgan County and Putnam County will face off this Friday in Madison at Bill Corry Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. in the backfield. They totaled three sacks and eight tackles for loss. Jenkins also gave praise to Putnam’s offense, which totaled 427 yards, with 340 coming on the ground, last week. “Man No. 6 (Omarion Butts) and No. 16 (Kumari Thomas) are good,” Jenkins said. “They also efficiently threw the ball downfield with their quarter- back (Ethan Whatley). He had a solid outing last week.” Jenkins thinks his team will come out on top if it can win the battle in the trenches. He saw on film how the War Eagles’ front seven got after it defen sively against Greene, but also how well their running game flourished. “It’s going to be a challenge for us,” Jenkins said. “That’s for sure.” Putnam County head coach Joel Harvin has a lot of respect for the Dogs, who entered this week ranked No. 7 in Class 2A. After defeating Warren County on the road, Harvin said he knows the Dogs will be ready to play a big rivalry game at home. “I think it’s going to be a good game. Our kids will be ready to play,” he said. “Obviously, we’re playing there, and I haven’t been there as a coach yet, but I’ve heard that it’s a tough atmo sphere. I hope it’s a good atmo sphere because that’s what our kids deserve to play in.” Harvin expects the Dogs to be a well-rounded team after they made it to the Class 2A quarter- finals last year. They bring back All-State players in senior quar terback Davis Strickland and senior running back/linebacker Christian Monfort. Their senior class also features Braxton Jones, Ty Tillery, Colton Morgan, and Drew Ainslie. “I haven’t seen them much on film, so I don’t know if they’re running the same stuff, but I know they’re well coached,” Harvin said. “They will be ready to play.” Morgan County leads the all-time series 32-18-1 over Putnam County. Friday’s game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Putnam defense pivotal in win over Greene County LANCE McCURLEY/Staff A pack of Putnam County defenders swarm a Greene County ball carrier in last week's 42-15 win over the Tigers. Lance McCurley lance@msgrnews.com Putnam County’s offense, especially its running game, excelled in the team’s dominant 42-15 win over rival Greene County on Aug. 15, but head coach Joel Harvin believes the defensive unit doesn’t get enough credit. The War Eagles struggled on defense in scrimmages against West Laurens and Washington County. However, the unit played stingy in the season-opening victory over the Tigers. Harvin said the key to success was getting his players in the right posi tion on defense. “We talked last week about how we have different players playing different positions that they’ve never played before, and trying to get LANCE McCURLEY/Staff A Putnam County defender brings down Greene County quarterback Landon Garretson short of the goal line in the fourth quarter of last week's rivalry matchup. THANKS TO DONATED SNEAKERS, I WAS ABLE TO FIND MY FOOTING AGAIN. that experience for them,” Harvin said. “So, I thought we had significantly improved over the past three weeks with those guys in those positions.” Putnam County made several impactful plays on defense, including an interception by senior Jayson Smith. The veteran linebacker intercepted a pass midway through the second quarter with the game tied 15-15. Harvin said he’s “very proud” of Smith, who totaled 75 stops and had two tackles for loss in the lopsided win over the Tigers. “The one player I think has probably improved the most is Jayson Smith,” the third-year War Eagles head coach said. “He had a really good game last night with the intercep tion, along with quite a few tackles for loss. But, that’s just one guy; several others also had great performances.” Outside of running back Dontriel Grable scoring two rushing touchdowns, Greene County’s offense struggled to move the ball. Putnam County constantly lived in the Tigers’ back- field and effectively stopped the run. The War Eagles totaled eight tackles for loss and had three sacks. Senior defensive end Steven Grandt had five stops for Putnam as well as team highs in tackles for loss (three) and sacks (two). The 6-foot, 220-pound defender had a sack on Greene County quarter- back Landon Garretson on fourth down in the first quarter. Junior edge rusher Bryson Brown recorded the other sack. Beyond Grandt and Smith, sophomore line backer Kumari Thomas also recorded multiple tackles for loss, while senior linebacker Chris tian Farley made a team- high nine tackles and a fumble recovery for Putnam. While those players each had standout perfor mances on the stats sheet, Harvin believed another defender deserved recognition. “Japheth Nelson played almost every snap on defense. And then also played every snap on the offensive line, which is almost impossible,” Harvin said. “That shows you how well in shape he is and how good a player he is. So, we are proud of him for doing that.” The Putnam County head coach also credited new defensive coordinator James Lal, who he said dialed up a nice game plan. “Defensively, the defen sive coordinator (Lal) did a good job of changing the books up,” Harvin said. “Those guys are really kind of coming into their own on the defensive side of the ball.” THE GREATEST CHALLENGES OF OUR TIME Your donations fund career services and education programs in your community. Where your things start new Uves. Learn more —AN EVENING WITH PRESIDENT- LECH WALESA USA & CANADA LECTURE TOUR | AUGUST 31 - OCTOBER 30, 2025 Meet the Nobel Peace Prize winner and one of the world’s greatest leaders. Lech Walesa will take you behind the scenes of one of history’s greatest turning points - and into the future we must build together. REGISTER NOW: www.HistoryExplorer.com
