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Eagles shut down Tiger Cubs in WIC West clash
South Putnam's football team got up big early in the county matchup with Greencastle Friday night and responded when Greencastle's offense scored some points for a 40-14 Eagle win.
Kyle Shaffer was the workhorse again for the Eagles with 267 yards on the ground and four touchdowns.
"We have a great team out here," Eagle Joey Masters said. "'Next man up.' We're rolling. We've got a great program going. Everybody is paying into it. We are doing what we need to do."
The game started out sluggish, much like the field which was still damp from the afternoon's rain.
Greencastle went three and out and a few slips forced South Putnam to do the same.
Greencastle's Chase Chew slipped on a pass when Nick Costin had him open for a first down and penalty problems for South Putnam kept the Eagle going backward.
Dalton Scott finally broke a tackle and sprung a 40-yard run for South Putnam. However a fumble kept South Putnam out of the red zone.
Greencastle then put together a decent drive with Chew receiving and Devin Clar rushing.
That drive hit a wall when a fourth-down pass to Jackie Scanland came up short thanks to Shaffer who made sure GHS didn't move the chains.
South Putnam took advantage of the turnover when Grady McHugh connected with Jimmy Rutter for a 38-yard pass to put the Eagles on the seven-yard-line.
McHugh and Rutter have hooked up for big all season and this pass led to a touchdown by Shaffer.
"I think we've got a good connection there at quarterback and receiver," Aker said "We've got a lot of receivers that can do it. Jimmy Rutter makes plays all the time. He does a phenomenal job. Grady's been throwing the ball extremely well. But when you've got Kyle Shaffer in the backfield they've got to respect the run. That opens up stuff in the air and we've got to take advantage of that."
With South Putnam up 7-0, the next big play was a defensive one for the Eagles when John Thibodeau picked off a pass after Costin took a hit in the backfield.
The Eagles then employed the run game to take the next drive 75 yards to the end zone.
Apart from a 12-yard pass to Rutter, South Putnam ran every play and Shaffer capped the drive with a 19-yard touchdown run.
"He will not go down," Aker said about Shaffer. "He refuses to go down. The kid is a workhorse. He's a role model who does things right. He's first one in and last one out every day."
South Putnam faked a field goal and McHugh passed to Rutter for the extra two points, making the halftime score 15-0.
For Greencastle, Alex Costin came into the game and completed two passes while Nick Costin was examined for a concussion.
After recovering their own fumble on the first play of the second half, South took advantage of two big runs to score a touchdown.
Kyle Hall first took an 18-yarder and then Shaffer again, picked up 48 yards. Four plays later he punched it in for South Putnam's third score.
With Nick Costin back in, Greencastle still had trouble moving the ball as the Eagles continued to pressure the pass and stuff the run.
On the next drive it was Shaffer again this time for 41 yards which led to a Brandon Gierke touchdown run, making the score 27-0 due to a missed extra point.
Greencastle then got some traction, however, that drive stalled on downs when the Eagles stopped a draw in the backfield.
However the Tiger Cubs did earn a score on the next drive.
Once in the fourth quarter, GHS began to finally make some headway with, Nick Costin tossing the ball around and down the field and finding J. T. Matthews for a 14-yard touchdown.
"We got rolling," Mike Meyer said. "That was a good football team. They are very strong up front. Coach Aker and his staff did a great job tonight. Unfortunately we just came up a little short."
A few punts by both teams led to an exciting last few minutes in the end of the fourth.
South Putnam's McHugh tossed a touchdown pass to Gierke after a long drive by the Eagles.
Greencastle responded when a few plays into the drive Clar broke a 40-yard run for a touchdown, making the score 33-14.
Shaffer then broke a 70-yarder on the very next play for a touchdown, making the final score 40-14.
South Putnam (4-0, 2-0 WIC) will follow this victory with another county game at North Putnam (3-1, 1-1 WIC). Greencastle (1-3, 0-2 WIC) will play Cascade (2-2, 2-0 WIC).
At South Putnam
GHS 0 0 0 14 -- 14
SP 0 15 12 15 -- 40
2nd Quarter
SP- Shaffer 1-yd run (kick by McHugh good) 7-0
SP-Shaffer 14-yd run (2pt conv. Good) 15-0
3rd Quarter
SP -- Shaffer 1 yd run (kick no good) 21-0
SP -- Gierke 2yd run (kick no good) 27-0
4th Quarter
GHS -- Nick Costin pass to J. T. Matthews 27-7 (kick by Kessler good) 27-7
SP- McHugh pass to Gierke 33-7
GHS -- Clar 39-yd run (kick good) 33-14
SP- Shaffer 70-yard run (kick good)
Greencastle
Rushing: Clar: 18-126, Costin, 4-17, Chew 3-0
Passing: Costin 14-22-122 (TD)
Receiving: Chew 4-36, Scanland 3-7, Mathews 4-35, Rossok 1-6, Meyer 2-20
South Putnam
Rushing: Shaffer 28-267, Gierke 6-38, McHugh 8- (-8), Scott 3-59, Hall 9-57, Wood, 2-11
Passing: McHugh 6-13-123
Recieveing Rutter 4-100 (TD), Gierke 2-37 (TD)
Turnovers: GHS 3, SP 1