Tonight's prep football capsules

Thursday, August 25, 2016

North Putnam (1-0) at Southmont (0-1)

Game time: 7 p.m.

Location: Southmont High School.

The coaches: Greg Barrett is in his eighth year at North Putnam. Desson Hannum is in his 10th year at Southmont.

Last week: North Putnam defeated Cascade 20-13. Southmont lost 55-13 at Fountain Central.

History: North Putnam won 31-21 at Roachdale last year to snap a three-game losing streak to the Mounties. Southmont was 3-8 last season.

Key players: The Cougars got rushing touchdowns from Max Haste, Ethan Christy and Solomon Gross last week. Gage Bell led the NP offense with 93 yards rushing. Christy and Matt Malone led the defense with nine tackles each.

Coach Barrett on Southmont: "Southmont is a good option football team. They are well coached, and it is always a good game when we play. They run an lot of veer and wing T kind of options. Defensive assignments are critical this week."

Coach Barrett on his team: "We need to be disciplined on defense and be able to control the ball and not turn it over. We had way too many turnovers [3] last week. We had a couple of interceptions, one was a tipped pass, and another was underthrown. One a fumble on a punt return. Those are all things we can definitely fix. We've had a good week of practice; we know our focus."

Cloverdale (0-1) at Greencastle (1-0)

Game time: 7 p.m.

Location: Robert L. Harbison Stadium in Greencastle.

Special info: GHS is recognizing students and staff from its three elementary schools, as well as law enforcement officers working in Putnam County.

The coaches: Tony Meyer is in his second year at Cloverdale. Mike Meyer is in his seventh year at Greencastle.

Last week: Greencastle defeated Crawfordsville 27-20. Cloverdale lost 26-8 to South Putnam after leading 8-0 midway through the second quarter.

History: Greencastle won 56-6 last year in Cloverdale. Nick Costin threw four touchdown passes and Devin Clar had 250 yards rushing and two touchdowns for the Tiger Cubs, who have won the last five matchups.

WIC impact: The teams are in different divisions, and this is a non-conference game.

Key players: Senior running back Devin Clar had 211 yards rushing and two touchdowns in Greencastle's opener. Senior quarterback Nick Costin ran for 48 yards and a touchdown. Cloverdale's touchdown last week came from junior quarterback Drew Boyette.

Coach Tony Meyer on Greencastle: "They've got one of best running backs in the conference in Devin Clar. He runs hard, controls the ball, and doesn't make silly mistakes. If he wasn't injured last year, would have had an incredible year. He's as good as we're going to see this year. [J.T.] Matthews is catching ball more this year than last year, and has blossomed as a wide receiver. [Nick] Costin is a good quarterback. He's very dangerous when running. If he gets outside, you're in trouble. Elijah Williams and Jackie Scanland are two more solid seniors with a lot of ability. They are very good and much improved. They're probably the most prepared and best-coached team we'll play."

Coach Tony Meyer on his team: "We have been working to fix our turnovers from last week on special teams. One of them was a miscommunication, and sometimes guys losing focus. We have worked on that a lot this week. It's been a rough week. Four of five linemen have been out of school with illness. We are prepared. I think it will end up being a good game. We can win, they can win. It's all going to come down to who wins the turnover battle. It should be a very competitive game."

Coach Mike Meyer on Cloverdale: "They are much improved. They've got some good skill kids. We're looking to do the best we can. They have some good athletes if that if we don't contain, them, they could cause us some problems."

Coach Mike Meyer on his team: "We have to minimize our mental mistakes, penalties and become a little more efficient on some of the things that we will have to do to make us successful. We have to shore up the kicking game as well."

South Putnam (1-0) at Brown County (1-0)

Game time: 7 p.m.

Location: Daily Hill Field in Nashville.

The coaches: Nathan Aker is in his third year at South Putnam. Randy Minniear is in his first year at Brown County.

Last week: South Putnam trailed Cloverdale 8-0 midway through the second quarter, but scored the last 26 points of the game to record the victory. Brown County edged Edinburgh 21-20 after trailing 20-0 at halftime.

History: South Putnam won 48-0 at Mark Wildman Field last year in the first-ever matchup between the teams. Brown County finished 2-8 last season.

Key players: All-state senior running back Kyle Shaffer had three touchdowns and 164 yards rushing for South Putnam last week. Sophomore quarterback Allen Plunkett completed four passes for 90 yards for the Eagles.

Coach Aker on Brown County: "Brown County is an improved football team. They are a wishbone triple option offense with talented backs and a good offensive line. Anytime you play against an option offense, you really have to focus on individual responsibilities in order to make sure everything is taken care of."

Coach Aker on his team: "In order to have success Friday night, we must continue to gel as a team while playing for our brothers next to us."

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