Eagles ranked 5th, Greencastle and North Putnam 17th in preseason coaches poll

The Indiana Football Coaches Association released its preseason poll on Monday and the South Putnam Eagles begin the year as the No. 5-ranked 1A team in the state.

SPHS finished last season 7-3 but have dropped into the smallest-school bracket for this year's rankings. The Eagles are ranked No. 8 in the AP poll.

Greencastle, which finished last season with the state's best defense and an 11-1 record, is the preseason No. 17 team in the IFCA 3A poll. The Tiger Cubs are ranked No. 11 in the AP poll.

North Putnam finished last season 3-7 and lost several starters, but the coaches are confident the Cougars will bounce back. NPHS is ranked No. 17 in the IFCA 2A poll. The team is unranked in the AP.

South Putnam begins its season on Friday at 4A Owen Valley at 7:30 p.m.

Greencastle faces West Central Conference opponent Monrovia on the road on Friday and North Putnam travels to Edgewood. Cloverdale, unranked in both polls, opens its season at Brown County. All three teams begin at 7 p.m.