Unfamiliar West Washington reminds Eagles of county rival

Wednesday, October 30, 2013
South Putnam quarterback Sawyer Arnold reads the defense to decide whether to handoff to Lucas Lorian (25), pitch back to Wes Riner (9) or keep it himself during a game earlier this season at North Putnam. The matchup with the Cougars may have helped prepare the Eagles for this week's game. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

Sitting in the middle of farmland, miles from the nearest congregation of buildings large enough to call it a town and 20 minutes from the closest fast food restaurant chain, stands a high school. Lit up on Friday nights, the football field is an oasis of action on a desert of harvested cornfields.

The local football team runs a balanced offense, hoping to run -- jet sweeps, delayed handoffs with pulling linemen -- but able to spread the field with passes to stretch the defense.

West Washington High School, in Vernon, hosts the South Putnam Eagles on Friday and while it's the first meeting between the two schools, it feels much more familiar than that.

"They remind me a lot of North Putnam," SPHS coach Troy Burgess said. "The setting of the school gives you a little bit of a North Put feeling. "

Burgess and the Eagles (9-1) have studied up on the Senators, but in some ways it's like they've played them every year.

While the personnel is different, the similar execution to North Putnam and going against the Cougars every season has given the Eagles coaches an edge on how to game plan for this week's game.

The offense isn't identical, but Burgess, who calls North Putnam coach Greg Barrett one of his closest friends in the profession, will have an ally to help him prepare. That might pay off as well.

The Cougars have always been one of the toughest games on the schedule for South Putnam and working in the regular season to prepare in the stressful week of a rivalry game is good playoff prep.

West Washington (5-5) has been a better team than North Putnam the past couple seasons, winning a sectional championship last year and the team returns a number of players from that group, including junior quarterback Cody Maudlin.

"That 12-17 yard intermediate route, he throws a good ball," Burgess said. "They've got a couple backs that run well, and they've got a lot of linemen back."

While South Putnam has seen its share of success, winning a sectional of its own two years ago by beating North Putnam, the bulk of this team wasn't around for that.

They were around last year, when the Eagles lost in the first round of the playoffs.

"The advantage they have on us is they have that experience of winning a sectional," Burgess said. "As well coached as they are, they've got that tournament experience, so I think it makes them very dangerous. ... (Phillip Bowsman) is not going to let them be complacent."

South Putnam got the disappointment of an early exit out of its system last week by beating Trinity Lutheran. Those Cougars ran a fairly one-dimensional offense, tough to stop but easy to plan for. This week is an entirely different test.

The Senators are run-focused, like the Eagles, but able to throw when given an opportunity. With the weather cooling off and rain in the forecast for Friday, those passing chances might be few and far between.

"I think both teams want to run the football, I really do," Burgess said. "I think it's going to come down to, offensively, which team can execute. Defensively, who makes the least amount of mistakes, who tackles the football and who causes the turnovers."

South Putnam will take the two-hour drive to West Washington High School for this week's sectional semifinal game. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on Friday.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: