Cougars rout Brown County

Cougar senior Bradley Hodges charges down the field Friday during a 59-7 homecoming victory over visiting Brown County. Hodges was the every-man for North on Friday while returning kicks and rushing for touchdowns. (Banner Graphic/NICK WILSON)

ROACHDALE -- North Putnam came out of this weekend's homecoming matchup with a big 59-7 win over their Brown County visitors from the east.

Totaling 404 yards, the Cougars trounced the Golden Eagles, scoring six total touchdowns and a field goal.

Cougar head coach Greg Barrett said after the game that they simply kept doing what they knew would work.

"I thought we had a great effort tonight (after) a letdown last week," Barrett said, citing a tough second-half loss on the road against Owen Valley. "The kids built upon that -- it was sitting in their stomachs.

"I didn't like the way we came out in the third quarter," Barrett continued. "We have some things that we need to get better at, but we saw a lot of really good things tonight and a lot of our kids got a chance to play football."

North Putnam (3-1 overall, 1-1 WIC) struck first against Brown County (1-3 overall, 0-2 WIC/Division) when sophomore quarterback Hayden Rudes punched in a three-yard rush to make the score 7-0 after the first quarter.

Brown County struggled in the rushing game, totaling 29 yards when it was all said and done. They fared better in the air as Alex and Dylan Carney combined for 125 yards and a third quarter touchdown.

The North Putnam running backs had no trouble chewing up yardage, however, rushing for six touchdowns on the night. Sophomores Rudes (2) and Ethan Christy (2), as well as seniors Bradley Hodges and Blake Everts, all contributed at least one touchdown on the ground.

The other side of the first half saw a flurry of scoring for the Cougars, putting up a total of 34 points on five touchdowns to enter the break ahead 41-0.

Brown County came out of halftime looking to score quickly, and it did just that. With 10:20 left in the third quarter, junior receiver Luke Getts caught a 37-yard pass from (Dylan) Carney to avoid the shutout. It was too little, too late though as North Putnam answered with two third-quarter scores of its own. Cougar senior Blake Everts put in a 1-yard rush to put North up 49-7, followed by senior kicker Bailey Adam's 25-yard field goal.

North wasn't finished scoring despite entering the fourth quarter ahead 52-7. Freshman running back Chris Murray showed what he was capable of by rushing for a 15-yard touchdown with 7:25 remaining. After a broken extra point attempt, place-holder Daniel Huffman swept the corner to convert for two and give the game its final score of 59-7.

Coach Barrett said mental preparation was vital Friday.

"We just have to make sure we have guys doing what they're supposed to and making tackles," Barrett said. "We got a lot of guys in there tonight to play and we're excited about that. We're going to enjoy this tonight and get ready for next week."

North Putnam returns to action this Friday at home against rival South Putnam. Their storied past will begin its next chapter at 7 p.m.

At North Putnam High School

Brown County 0 0 7 0 - 7

North Putnam 7 34 10 8 - 59

1st Quarter

NP 5:50 Rudes 3-yard rush (XP good) 7-0

2nd Quarter

NP 11:15 Christy 21-yard rush (XP good) 14-0

NP 7:55 Hodges 10-yard rush (XP no good) 20-0

NP 6:15 Rudes 1-yard rush (XP good) 27-0

NP 4:55 Christy 84-yard rush (XP good) 34-0

NP 0:43 Jeter 4-yard rush (XP good) 41-0

3rd Quarter

BC 10:20 Getts 37-yard reception (XP good) 41-7

NP 5:44 Everts 1-yard rush (XP good) 49-7

NP 2:45 Allen 25-yard FG 52-7

4th Quarter

NP 7:25 Murray 15-yard rush (Conversion good) 59-7

Statistics

Total Yards: Brown County 142; North Putnam 404. Rushing: Brown County Palmer 4-12; Walsh 6-22; Claburn 6-0; Harper 1-(-4); Burns 1-(-6); Carney 3-5. North Putnam Haste 4-6; Everts 4-4, TD; Hodges 9-25, TD; Christy 5-116, 2 TD; Rudes 6-15, 2 TD. Passing: Brown County Claburn 2-4-9, 1 INT; D. Carney 1-1-37, 1 TD; A. Carney 3-3-79, 1 FUM. North Putnam Rudes 4-10-71; Judy 1-3-4. Receiving: Brown County Walsh 1-3-16; Palmer 1-2-5; Maus 2-3-30; Getts 1-1-37, TD. North Putnam Everts 1-2-30; Haste 0-2-0; Huffman 1-2-9; McPherson 1-1-16; Hodges 0-1-0; Judy 1-1-16; Mitchel 0-1-0. 1st Downs: Brown County 6; North Putnam 13. 4th Downs: Brown County 0-2; North Putnam 0-2. Turnovers: Brown County 6; North Putnam 0. Penalties: Brown County 5-(-30); North Putnam 11-(-90).