Cougars Win Sectional

Saturday, November 6, 2010
The North Putnam Cougars won the sectional championship Friday after defeating Greencastle 54-21. The Cougars collected 449 yards on the ground en route to their win. North Putnam will host Speedway next Friday for the regional crown at 7 p.m.

ROACHDALE -- Just two plays into Friday's sectional championship contest between North Putnam and Greencastle, the Cougars left little doubt they meant business. When all was said and done, the Cougars were crowned sectional champions after defeating the Tiger Cubs 54-21.

On their second play of the night, the Cougars' Hank Spencer took the ball up the middle for a 67-yard touchdown to put North Putnam up 7-0 less than a minute into the game. It would be just the tip of the iceberg. North Putnam scored touchdowns on its first eight possessions of the game, flexing a little offensive muscle.

North Putnam head coach Greg Barrett loved the quick start his team got in the sectional tournament.

Cougar quarterback Kolton Everts rushed five times for 55 yards and three touchdowns Friday. He also was 3-4 passing with a touchdown.

"That was great. We came out fast and furious like we were wanting to," he said. "You never know a second with a rivalry coming back at you and I'm very proud of how these kids worked hard, taking nothing for granted and haven't looked to the next game. They've done all the right things.

"It's amazing how well these guys have come together and they've bought into what we're doing," he said.

Barrett continued and explained how his team turned things around after easing through some games in the middle of their season.

"It's phenomenal," Barrett said. "We started about midway through the season with some big spurts in that first half and then we slacked off a couple games, then picked it back up and now it's right where it needs to be -- full throttle.

"I tell you what, they've done a great job. We're going to enjoy this win tonight, then we're going to get excited about tomorrow morning getting in here and watching film and getting ready for a regional championship," Barrett added.

Greencastle head coach Eric Davis acknowledged his teams struggled against the Cougars following the contest.

"It was one of those situations where they are a very good football team and they demonstrated that," Davis said. "Physically, we were outmatched. From an athletic standpoint, I think we were OK, but physically they just dominated us up front. We struggled to get off blocks, we struggled to tackle, we struggled to block offensively -- we just struggled with the physical aspect of the game."

The Cougars were up 41-0 after three rushing touchdowns from quarterback Kolton Everts and one from Jordan Murphy. Everts also had a 42-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Vondersaar in addition to Spencer's TD which opened the floodgates.

A smile crossed Barrett's face as he talked about the impact of his senior quarterback on the outcome of Friday night's game.

"I'm very proud of Kolton Everts," he said. "He's kind of the X-factor I think at time. He's going to make things happen and he read the option great tonight and we've worked all week about being patient and letting things come to you and he did so good, I don't even know what his numbers are even close to tonight. He made some great plays for us."

The second half started the same way the first half ended -- with a Tanner Battin interception to Vondersaar. The Tiger Cubs would struggle to find their offense until well into the fourth quarter.

However, the Cougars continued their scoring match on their first possession of the second half. On their first play, Tyler Shorter scored from 39-yards out, putting the Cougars up 48-0. North Putnam scored its final touchdown with 5:20 remaining in the third quarter when Travis Kratt scored on a 48-yard run. The Cougars amassed 449 yard on the ground on the night.

Greencastle got things going as their defense forced a fumble and Jesse Vermillion pounced on it. Three plays plate, Mac Shuee scored on a three-yard blast to give Greencastle its first score with 8:40 on the clock.

On their next possession Battin sliced his way to a 57-yard score, making the score 54-14. Vermillion added the game's final score with 1:04 remaining, running the score to its final tally of 54-21.

Davis said how proud he was of what his team achieved this season and noted that even with the improvement, the Tiger Cubs weren't satisfied.

"I think the coaching staff and the kids did a great job this year embracing a new system and learning how to teach it from a coaching standpoint and then execution wise, our kids did a real nice job this year. So, 6-6 isn't quite what we wanted. I think it's a good start and we'll see where it goes from here," Davis said.

The Cougars will welcome a familiar foe for the regional championship next Friday. North Putnam will host former West Central Conference opponent Speedway at 7 p.m.

The last time the Cougars and Sparkplugs faced off in the tournament, Speedway was able to come away with a one-point win in 2008. The two teams have a history and Barrett is ready to lock horns with the Sparkplugs once again.

"Oh yeah, we're excited about that,' Barrett said. "You know what, it's going to be a battle here next Friday night and we're going to think about that one in the morning."

North Putnam will host Speedway at 7 p.m. Friday for the regional championship.

At North Putnam

Class 2A No. 30 Sectional

Greencastle 0 0 0 21 -- 21

North Putnam 21 20 13 0 -- 54

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

NP -- Spencer 40-yard run, Summerlot kick 11:05

NP -- Everts 20-yard run, Summerlot kick 5:40

NP -- C. Vondersaar 42-yard pass from Everts, Summerlot kick 3:45

Second Quarter

NP -- Everts 8-yard run, kick failed 10:32

NP -- Everts 18-yard run, Summerlot kick 6:56

NP -- Murphy 4-yard run, Summerlot kick

Third Quarter

NP -- Shorter 39-yard run, Summerlot kick 9:59

NP -- Kratt 48-yard run, kick failed 5:20

Fourth Quarter

GHS -- Shuee 3-yard run, Parker kick 8:40

GHS -- T. Battin 57-yard run, Parker kick 2:50

GHS -- Vermillion 10-yard run, Parker kick 1:04

Individual Stats

Greencastle

Rushing -- Battin 5-53 , Vermillion 9-38, Shuee 2-7, Teal 6-1, R. Battin --(-11)

Passing -- Battin 4-12 23 yards, 2 Int.

Receiving -- Remsburg 2-18, Hutcheson 1-5, Teal 1-(-5)

North Putnam

Rushing -- Franklin 6-138, Spencer 9-133, Everts 5-55, Kratt 4-59, Shorter 1-39, Murphy 6-23, Belcher 6-14, St. Victor 3-4, Smith 3-(-1), C. Vondersaar 1-(-15)

Passing -- Everts 3-4 69 yards, TD

Receiving -- Vondersaar 2-61, Murphy 1-8

Next game -- North Putnam will host Speedway at 7 p.m. Friday for the regional championship.