Cougars find room to grow in scrimmage against Red Raiders

North Putnam senior Kaleb Belcher (26) bounces outside past a wall of blockers during the scrimmage against Cardinal Ritter. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

ROACHDALE -- The North Putnam Cougars 2013 football season officially started on Friday night with a visit by the Cardinal Ritter Red Raiders for the annual scrimmage. The Cougars showed lots of potential on offense and defense, proving that they are a much improved team over last year's 3-6 finish.

Coach Greg Barrett was confident that this Cougar team will be one to watch this year.

"Our expectations for the season are always to play the last game in Lucas Oil Stadium," Barrett said. "We have a long way to go before we get there."

The Cougars' defense started off slowly against the first-ranked Red Raiders and allowed a quick two-play 65 yard touchdown drive, capped by a 30 yard run.

The defense got the first series jitters out of the way and forced Ritter into two long fourth downs, but the Raiders scored once more during their scheduled 15 plays.

"I thought we did a lot of good things," Barrett said. "We started out slow, but we have a great group of guys and they work hard every day. They don't care to touch the ball, they just want to do their jobs. That's what makes this a special group."

By the end of the night it was clear that the Cougars defense needs to improve, but with a couple more practices they could be right where they were two short years ago.

The speed of Ritter is not something NPHS has had to face yet in practice, it took some adjustments. It's also something they may not face for the first few weeks of the season.

"It's always a good scrimmage because it shows us what we need to get better at and we saw a lot of things to get better at tonight," Barrett said. "I also a lot of bright spots, too, so we are excited."

The Cougar offense was hit-and-miss on the night, having a few good plays and a few bad plays in a row. The Cougars had three turnovers and no big-yardage plays, but they gained good yardage throughout the night.

The one stand-out player on the team was senior running back Kaleb Belcher, who carried the ball eight times for 32 yards.

Senior Gabe McFadden started at quarterback, playing 12 of the first 15 offensive snaps. Sophomore Brad Hodges was in for the other three.

Both quarterbacks were on the field for a lost fumble.

"We need to get better at fundamentals," Barrett said. "It's not play-calling, it's not forgetting the plays, it's doing all the little things right."

A swarm of Cougars defenders moves in on the Ritter ball carrier during the scrimmage on Friday. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

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