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Clovers take loss at hands of Cougars
ROACHDALE-- In the final WCC football game and last regular season matchup of the season, North Putnam hosted Cloverdale with both teams looking to launch into sectional play on the back of a win.
The Cougars put two touchdowns on the board in the first quarter and held off a late Clover surge to pick up their fourth win of the season, 20-8.
North Putnam head coach Greg Barrett said that the team adapted well to a sloppy field and the Clover defense.
"Offensively, we mixed in a lot of things," Barrett said. "Mike Hook had a great game and it was important for Mike to come in and do the things he did.
"With those field conditions, we couldn't do some of the things we wanted to on the outside, so we did a nice job with our power game tonight. I'm excited for some of those kids that stepped up tonight and did some things they hadn't done for a while."
Cloverdale head coach Jarrod Duff said that despite being unable to secure a second win this season, the squad was still fighting for one another and battling on.
"I told the kids they're my guys, I wouldn't want to coach any other team or go into battle with any other guys," Duff said. "This game was a microcosm of our entire season.
"We have to overcome so many things and these guys just keep fighting. I like to winsgames and don't like to lose, but that's not why I'm in this business.
"It's the relationships I've built with kids," Duff added. "I love these guys and couldn't be any prouder of them because even when everything in the world goes against them, they keep battling."
The visitors got off to a rough start, committing a false start penalty and fumbling the ball away on the first play of the game.
North Putnam capitalized quickly after Bradley Hodges scored from 14 yards out give the Cougars a 6-0 lead.
Cloverdale went nowhere on its next possession and gave the ball back with great field position when the fourth down snap went wide, setting up the hosts inside Clover territory for a second time.
Freshman quarterback Hayden Rudes eventually connected with Max Haste on an 11-yard touchdown pass to double the home side's advantage to 12-0.
The start was one that Barrett welcomed after slow beginnings this season.
"We did a great job in the first quarter," Barrett said. "We had field position that helped us get a couple of quick scores, something we haven't done on offense this year.
"We talked about finishing in the red zone, getting there and punching it in and I'm proud of those guys for doing that. It was big for them because we knew it was going to be a battle and that was a good, hard fought game tonight."
North Putnam threatened to run away with the game as their third possession saw them march 56 yards in six plays, only for a pass from Corbin Judy to fall into the waiting arms of Clover safety Max Secrest.
Secrest ran 90 yards for what would have been a score, only to have part of the run wiped out on a block in the back penalty.
Duff said the play was typical of the way the season had gone.
"We just didn't get a lot of breaks," Duff said. "We did some things to shoot ourselves in the foot, such as when Max Secrest makes a great play, a great run and we make a mistake and get a penalty and have the play called back.
"We had other opportunities to score but it hurts when you get a touchdown called back. They didn't hang their heads, though, and kept battling."
Possession was traded back and forth until midway in the second quarter when the Cougars began a drive that reached the Clover five-yard line, only to fall just short on fourth down.
Cloverdale, pinned very deep in their own territory, lost yardage on three straight plays and conceded a safety when Secrest was tackled in the end zone by North Putnam defensive tackle Travis Pearl.
The play was a boost for the Cougars going into halftime according to Barrett.
"That got us two points we missed out on earlier and it was a big play for us," Barrett noted. "I thought the defense did a good job pinning them back there."
North Putnam continued to move the ball well to start the second half but gave up possession on a promising drive when Rudes missed a snap and Brayden White recovered for the visitors.
Cloverdale's offense, with Duke Duff finally available after eight weeks on the sidelines, began to move the ball but lost possession on downs in Cougar territory.
Emotions threatened to boil over on the next Clover possession as extracurricular activity eventually saw North Putnam's Nolan Ensor ejected and both teams warned about future conduct.
With Cloverdale on the Cougar 14, Duff misfired on two passes and was intercepted on fourth down by Daniel Huffman.
The Clovers were not denied on a second trip to the red zone. Duff moved the Clovers 57 yards on three pass plays before Tyce Jackson blasted through a hole for a 23-yard score that cut the deficit to 14-8.
An adjustment at halftime was key to the revival, according to Duff.
"They were sending a lot of guys, blitzing us like crazy, and we had some problems in the first half picking up blitzes," Duff said. "We were confident that if we could get some time, we had some people open and we could get them the ball.
"We made an adjustment at halftime and played a lot better in the second half. Our offensive line really stepped up and played much better."
The hosts responded with a game-sealing 12-play drive powered primarily on the back of Mike Hook.
The lineman-turned-fullback ran the ball four times on the drive for 50 yards, including a three-yard rumble into the end zone that gave the Cougars breathing space at 20-8.
Duff was intercepted for a second time by Huffman to end any hoped of a comeback and sent North Putnam into sectional play on a two-game winning streak.
Barrett said the response to Cloverdale's score was the kind of reaction that he wanted to see from the squad.
"I thought we did a good job responding to their score," Barrett said. "We fought through that adversity and responded.
"I'm proud of the guys. That's a big win for us tonight."
With the regular season completed and sectional play slated to begin, both squads open the IHSAA tournament with home games next week.
Cloverdale hosts Park Tudor and Duff said that the squad had something to build on for next week.
"At times in the second half, we played the best we've played all year," Duff said. "That's encouraging going into next week.
"These guys are going to continue to come in and work hard. We're excited about playing Park Tudor and getting a home game for the sectional."
North Putnam, meanwhile, hosts Benton Central and though there wasn't much available on the Bison, Barrett said that much of the work would still be on how the Cougars come out next week.
"We don't know a lot about Benton Central," Barrett said. "We know they play in a good conference and some of their losses come against pretty good teams so we won't take them lightly.
"We've still got a lot to prove around here so we need to do the things we're doing to get better and focus on ourselves. It comes down to execution and that's what we're shooting for."
At North Putnam
Cloverdale 0 0 0 8 -- 8
North Putnam 12 2 0 6 -- 20
Scoring
1st Quarter
NP -- 10:15 Hodges 14-yard run (Conversion failed) 6-0
NP -- 6:10 Haste 11-yard pass from Rudes (Conversion failed) 12-0
2nd Quarter
NP -- 1:06 Safety; Secrest tackled by Pearl 14-0
4th Quarter
C -- 6:30 Jackson 23-yard run (Fislar pass to Secrest) 14-8
NP -- 1:15 Hook 3-yard run (Conversion failed) 20-8
Next Game: Cloverdale (1-8, 0-4 WCC) hosts Park Tudor (1-8, 0-7 Indiana Crossroads Conference) and North Putnam (4-5, 2-2 WCC) hosts Benton Central (1-8, 0-6 Hoosier Conference) next Friday.