Danville manhandles North Putnam in 52-8 win

Saturday, September 15, 2012
Senior Jake Haste stood out defensively for the Cougars, wrapping up Warriors' quarterback Scott Amor, but the team couldn't get a stop and put the ball on the ground five times in its 52-8 loss on Friday.

ROACHDALE -- Entering the game as underdogs to the Danville Warriors, the North Putnam Cougars football team hoped to turn their disappointing season around.

Instead, the team dropped the game 52-8 and fell to 2-3 for the season.

"The better team won tonight," North Putnam head coach Greg Barrett said. "They outplayed us. We couldn't stop them."

When the Warriors weren't fooling the Cougar defenders with their option, they were running around, over and through them.

Junior Autry Pickens led the way for Danville, rushing for 143 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, with many of the yards coming after a missed tackle.

"We're not wrapping up or playing defense like we're used to playing around here," Barrett said. "We've got to get better at tackling. That's what it boils down to."

Offensively the Cougars were able to make a few big plays, but failed to put together a complete drive until midway through the third quarter when they were already trailing 31-0.

"We shot ourselves in the foot," Barrett said. "I thought it was there. It was there. We just kept putting the ball on the ground."

The Cougars fumbled five times, losing only one, but each seemed to stunt a drive and stifle any moment the team had.

"We'd put together a drive and we'd shoot ourselves," Barrett explained, "With a penalty, or by putting the ball on the ground, getting a bad snap, or we'd bobble the ball."

North Putnam took the opening kickoff at its own 20 and opened the game with a 42-yard run by Beau Green. The team lost yards on two of its next three plays and was forced to punt.

Danville then began a 13-play, seven-minute drive that chewed up most of the first quarter and culminated with a 3-yard touchdown by senior quarterback Scott Amor.

After a three-and-out, the Warriors began a 15-play drive that chewed up the rest of the quarter and put them ahead 16-0.

The Cougars only had two defensive stops in the game, once with 6:00 left in the second quarter and once after the starters had all been pulled in the fourth.

"The sad thing is, we've had two really good weeks at practice, and then come out on Friday nights and just laid an egg," Barrett said. "This, game five, we've got to be much better than what we were. I think we were worse tonight. That's on me."

Junior Caleb Belcher (13 carries, 30 yards) had the only score of the game for the Cougars, a two-yard run with 7:10 left in the third quarter that narrowed the gap to 31-8.

Senior quarterback Trevor Smith finished the game 5-for-10 for 92 yards, but threw a costly interception with the team driving late in the second quarter.

The Cougars will host Greencastle (5-0) next week in the school's homecoming game.

North Putnam's 2-3 record this season is the first time the team has had a sub-.500 record since 2005.

"We'll take a hard look at our guys that are going both ways and evaluate what's going on out there," Barrett said. "We've got a lot of things to correct."

In Barrett's three previous seasons as North Putnam head coach (2008-2010), the team lost a total of two regular-season games.

"We've got a long way to go," Barrett said. "We've got to get back to the fundamentals, put the 'fun' back in fundamentals, because it's not there right now. We'll get there."

At North Putnam

First quarter

Danville -- 5:55 3-yard run by Amor. Two-point try good (Amor run), 8-0

Second quarter

Danville -- 11:57 1-yard run by Butler. Two-point try good (Amor to Thompson), 16-0

Danville -- 3:35 40-yard run by Pickens. Two-point try no good, 22-0

Danville -- 0:24 42-yard field goal by Rieser, 25-0

Third quarter

Danville -- 9:50 12-yard run by Pickens. Extra point no good, 31-0

North Putnam -- 7:10 2-yard run by Belcher. Two-point try good (Smith to Haste), 31-8

Danville -- 5:10 19-yard run by Butler. Extra point good, 38-8

Danville -- 2:20 7-yard run by Jones. Extra point good, 45-8

Fourth quarter

Danville -- 11:55 5-yard run by Perry. Extra point good, 52-8

Individual stats

Rushing

Danville -- Pickens 16, 143, 2 TD; Amor 17, 80, TD; Butler 11, 66, 2 TD; Jones 5, 28, TD; Perry 4, 25, TD; Shadle 1, 8; Muse 1, 4; Boller 4, 3; Knotts 4, -1; Reeves 2, -2

North Putnam -- Green 6, 59; Murray 3, 29; Belcher 13, 30, TD, Fum.; Bishop 1, 6; Haste 5, 2, 2 Fum. (1 lost); Riggen 1, 0; Brewer 1, -3, Fum.; Flynn 1, -3; Smith 7, -11, Fum.

Receiving

Danville -- Thompson 1, 36; Reeves 1, 15; Perry 1, 6

North Putnam -- Brewer 2, 50; Belcher 2, 29; Haste 1, 13

Passing

Danville -- Amor 3/6, 57

North Putnam -- Smith 5/10, 92, Int