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South Putnam hopes to lord over Royals in regional
They've never seen a semi-state in the flesh. They're proud of their address. They don't care the Eastern Hancock Royals are a 12-0 juggernaut, averaging nearly 60 points per game.
The players on the South Putnam football team will never be Royals. That's just how they want it.
"I feel like this school has a great legacy of football and we want to carry that out," South Putnam junior Zane Yon said. "It's a great experience. A lot of people don't get to play in regionals and I'm blessed to be able to get this far with an amazing group of players and family."
The Eagles have had an incredible season, sweeping the West Central Conference schedule and winning by almost 26 points per game (37.9 for, 12.3 against). But they just haven't played a team quite like Eastern Hancock.
Senior running back Spencer Gilbert leads the Royals with 2,441 rush yards and 35 touchdowns. He's averaging 12.1 yards per carry. In his worst game of the year, he still had 109 yards and two touchdowns, and his team won 72-6.
He's big, fast and impossible to stop. A little like South Putnam's defensive line.
"He's very big and very fast. ... He's by far the best running back we've seen this year," SPHS coach Troy Burgess said. "We're big up front but we've got guys who have good speed (at linebacker)."
The Eagles decided before the season to use smaller, quicker players at linebacker to help in coverage and use their speed to blitz and takeaway cutbacks.
That choice has worked so far because the defensive line has done its job, plugging holes and forcing the action, but also because South Putnam hasn't really had to face a monstrous back capable of running them over and then burning through the second level.
There have been a couple tests -- players like Tri-West quarterback Jake Hendershot and last week against Lutheran fullback Dylen Goddard -- but nothing quite like Gilbert.
He's not doing it alone. Junior Cooper Henderson has 768 yards and the Royals have thrown for 1,559 yards and 28 touchdowns with dual-threat junior quarterback Logan Splater leading the way.
"I'm real worried, but I'm putting the pressure on (defensive coordinator Nathan Aker) this week," Burgess said. "They're a very talented football team, they're very well coached and they've got a lot of weapons. ... They're physical and fast up front and they present one heck of a challenge for us."
Stopping the Royals will be impossible and slowing them down is a big test in itself, but scoring on them is just as challenging.
Eastern Hancock doesn't just stop teams, they embarrass them. The Royals have 17 interceptions and 31 fumble recoveries. It's not impossible to score, but at times it seems that way. They're giving up just 15.6 points per game and have three shutouts.
Should sophomore Grady McHugh make his second career start at quarterback, which seems likely, it's not a very inviting defense to do it against.
If there is any solace for the Eagles, it's that they'll be at home facing a great team that has been merely very good in road games. In six games each, the Royals margin at home is plus-59.0 and on the road it's plus 29.5. They're allowing 16.2 more points.
"I really expect a big crowd here, a great atmosphere and it's just exciting," Burgess said. "If you're a competitor, you want to play the best and right now, on paper, Eastern Hancock are the best team in Indiana in 1A.
"Until somebody beats them and proves otherwise, I think they probably are. As a competitor, we look forward to this. We want to go out and play the best."
South Putnam will face Eastern Hancock on Friday at 7 p.m. Competing with Royals will be tough, but the Eagles crave a different kind of buzz--a regional championship.
"We're getting more bleachers for Friday night so it'll be a lot of people and a great crowd behind us," Yon said. "It should be a great atmosphere Friday night. I can't wait to see what it's like."
A win would let them live that regional championship fantasy.