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NP routs West Vigo; Cougars to host county title game next Friday
ROACHDALE — North Putnam’s football team is widely known for liking to run the football.
Friday’s daytime weather brought a lot of rain to the Cougar field, making throwing the ball more difficult and leading North Putnam’s game with West Vigo to seem like a grind-it-out rushing battle.
So, of course, Cougar quarterback Hayden Rudes aired out 19 pass attempts and completed 14 of them for 173 yards as North Putnam dominated the first half of play and coasted to a 35-7 win.
“Yeah, it’s a little different,” Rudes said of this week’s game plan. “We had a good week in practice and prepped really well.
“Our scout team gave us great looks, and we studied a lot in the film room,” added Rudes, a 6-foot, 165-pound junior. “That gave us the confidence to come out and throw the ball.”
Rudes didn’t exactly launch 50-yard aerials down the field, but spread his mid-range completions out over five different receivers.
He had no issues with pressure, as the Cougar blockers kept him safe for the entire game.
“The line did a phenomenal job,” Rudes said. “I am really proud of them.”
North Putnam coach Greg Barrett considered changing his planned tactics, but is glad he kept things the same.
“That was kind of our plan throughout the week,” he said of the uncharacteristic passing display. “Looking at the rain [Friday] we thought it may have to change.
“It kind of let up a little bit for us, and we tried to stick with our plan,” Barrett added. “I thought we executed really well in the first half, and that we carried out the plan and didn’t let anything bother us.”
North Putnam first got on the board late in the opening quarter after driving from its own 42 following a West Vigo punt.
Solomon Gross, who scored four of the five Cougar touchdowns on the evening, picked up two first downs on the drive and had a potential fifth touchdown called back due to a penalty.
Rudes hit sure-handed tight end Max Haste on a 22-yard score with 2:10 left in the period, and Ethan Hayes added the extra point.
North Putnam then began flexing its muscles in the second quarter, scoring 21 more unanswered points for a 28-0 halftime lead.
After forcing West Vigo to punt following Haste’s score, the Cougars took over on their own 30 and scored in just four plays. Rudes hit Haste for a 13-yard completion and Corbin Judy ran for eight yards before catching a 24-yard Rudes pass. Gross scored from 25 yards out to make it 14-0.
West Vigo, which got only one first down in the first half, was again forced to punt and the Cougars took over near midfield. Gross ran for six yards, and Rudes hit Judy for a short gain before connecting with Gross on a short screen pass.
The 6-2, 230-pounder broke through several tackles and outran the rest of the defenders on his way to a 46-yard score and a 21-0 lead.
Then came a series on which it appeared the Cougars were opening up a bag of trick plays on the Vikings, recovering what seemed to be an onside kick to take over on their own 48.
Haste was attempting to kick it low down the middle of the field, but the ball struck a Viking blocker in the shin and bounced directly back toward the Cougars — who easily recovered it.
“We weren’t trying to onside kick,” Barrett admitted. “Fortunately it hit one of their kids in the leg, and we did a good job of covering it.”
The Cougars were not able to move the ball on that possession, and Haste dropped back to punt from his own 45.
After receiving the snap, he surveyed the field, ran a couple of steps forward then took off. All of the Viking defenders had peeled back to set up a blocking wedge, and Haste was able to pick up 33 yards and get the ball to the Viking 22. Gross scored from five yards out a few plays later.
“He did that on his own,” Barrett said. “He just read the defense and made a great play. He’s a very smart player.”
The shellshocked Vikings, who had entered the game with a 4-2 record, went into the locker room seemingly already defeated.
Barrett was not nearly as enthused about his team’s second-half performance, which would have been hard to surpass the effort in the first 24 minutes.
Each team would add a touchdown in the second half, but they didn’t matter. The game was over.
West Vigo’s Jake Lautenschlager hit senior receiver Tyler Kernstein for a 24-yard touchdown with 3:40 left in the third period, and the Cougars responded on the ensuing drive with their final score of the night.
Gross picked up the kickoff around the Cougar 20 and returned it into West Vigo territory giving his team great field position.
Rudes hit Haste for back to back completions to get the drive going, and Gross capped off his 24-point night with a 14-yard touchdown just eight seconds into the final period.
He finished with 100 yards on 15 carries, and caught three passes for 53 yards besides his lengthy kickoff return.
Barrett feels that Gross is becoming “really comfortable” and feeling good about the Cougar offense and his crucial role in it.
“He’s definitely a difference maker,” Barrett said. “Any time he touches the ball you don’t know what is going to happen.
“He makes plays, and he provides energy and enthusiasm for our team,” he added. “It’s nice to have a guy like him.”
Barrett agreed with his quarterback about the play of the offensive line, an area which he said earlier in the week needed to improve its performance in order to win.
“They were great,” Barrett said. “From watching West Vigo’s film, they are really good up front and we knew we were going to have a battle on our hands.”
With the win, North Putnam improved to 5-2 overall and moved into a tie for third place in the West Division of the Western Indiana Conference with Northview at 2-2.
The Cougars won only their second home game of the season against West Vigo, and will host Greencastle on Friday for the Putnam County championship. Each team own victories over both South Putnam and Cloverdale.
Rudes spoke for his team when looking ahead to the huge rivalry clash next week.
“We’re ready,” he said. “We’re pumped.”
West Vigo 0 0 7 0 — 7
North Putnam 7 21 0 7 — 35
NP — Haste 14 pass from Rudes (Hayes kick)
NP — Gross 25 run (Hayes kick)
NP — Gross 46 pass from Rudes (Hayes kick)
NP — Gross 5 run (Hayes kick)
WV — Kernstein 24 pass from Lautenschlager (Beaver kick)
NP — Gross 14 run (Hayes kick)
WV NP
First downs 8 14
Rushing yards 61 190
Passing yards 103 173
Total offense 164 363
Passing 8-22-0 14-19-0
Fumbles-lost 1-1 0-0
Punts-avg. 5-28.2 3-33.3
Penalties-yards 0-0 8-87
Individual statistics
Rushing — West Vigo: McCallister 8-19, Noblitt 6-23, Stevens 1-1, Denny 2-10, Lautenschlager 1-(-7). North Putnam: Judy 5-12, Murray 2-3, Gross 15-100, Christy 5-11, Rudes 4-3, Haste 4-56.
Passing — West Vigo: Lautenschlager 5-16-0 66, Andrews 3-6-0 37. North Putnam: Rudes 14-19-0 173.
Receiving — West Vigo: Kernstein 4-65, Creasey 2-14, McCallister 2-24. North Putnam Gross 3-53, Haste 4-51, Mitchell 2-24, Judy 4-46, Christy 1-(-1).
Next game — North Putnam (5-2, 2-2) hosts Greencastle on Friday, while West Vigo (4-3, 1-3) hosts division leader Sullivan.