Cougars struggle in shutout loss

North Putnam senior Garrett Plessinger (3) breaks up the field after a reception. Plessinger had three receptions for 48 yards in the loss to Southmont on Friday. (Banner Graphic/JARED JERNAGAN)

ROACHDALE -- A promising start derailed by key miscues marked the first quarter of North Putnam's home opener Friday night.

Unfortunately, it was merely a synopsis of the entire night for the Cougars, who fell to visiting Southmont 18-0.

Receiving the opening kickoff, Cougar senior Tyler Land set his team up well, returning the ball 40 yards to the Mountie 42-yard line.

Three plays later, Garrett Plessinger caught a ball for what appeared to be a Cougar first down, only to fumble. The ball was recovered by the Mounties just before it went out of bounds.

From there, Southmont embarked on a 12-play, 67-yard drive toward the end zone.

Even three illegal procedure penalties following a first-and-goal could not keep the Mounties from scoring, which they did three times, though the first two were called back.

Finally, on fourth-and-goal from the 24, Mountie quarterback Devon Burton scrambled around before finding Zach Worm for the opening score with 5 minutes remaining in the quarter.

A missed extra point kept the score at 6-0.

After the game, North Putnam coach Greg Barret said the inability to take advantage of opportunities plagued his team.

"We gotta learn how to finish. That's what it boils down to, too many mental mistakes," Barrett said. "They're just little fundamentals that we gotta get better at. We'll just keep coaching the way we're coaching and these kids will keep working hard."

The Cougars struggled to find a rhythm on either side of the ball for much of the evening. Even when the defense made a nice stop or the offense had a nice gain, things stalled.

A missed tackle, a bobbled snap, a block not held long enough -- the little things added up for the Cougars (0-2).

Late in the first half, quarterback Gabe McFadden found Plessinger downfield for a 34-yard completion -- the play of the night for the Cougars.

However, with the offense set up inside Mountie territory, the next four plays netted a seven-yard loss.

The Mounties (1-1), on the other hand, made the plays they really needed and seemed to get stronger as the night went along.

While their offense produced no more first half points, they put the game away in the third quarter, rushing 16 times for 107 yards and two touchdowns in the frame. Sophomore Nathaniel Farabee and senior Chance Brown scored on a pair of six-yard plunges.

The fullback Farabee bore the load for Southmont, rushing up the middle 25 times for 129 yards.

"There are no big excuses. (Southmont) is a tough team," Barrett said. "They run a good offense. It boils down to us tackling and maintaining blocks and winning first and second down. That's our biggest thing, we have to win first and second down, offensively and defensively."

The Cougars had trouble getting things going on the ground or in the air. They rushed 31 times for 27 yards, led by Grant Bryan's 18 yards. Plessinger caught three passes for 48 yards.

While McFadden managed 108 yards through the air, he did so on 8-for-17 passing, throwing three interceptions. Fellow signal caller Burton had all three Southmont picks from his defensive back position.

Barrett acknowledged next week's West Central Conference opener is important for the Cougars, but said his team has little time to think about Cascade just yet.

"Cascade's an improved team. I think Coach (Jason) Thompson's done a good job with those guys. They're hungry for success," Barrett said.

"We know what we need to do to get better," he continued. "Unfortunately, we need to worry about ourselves before we can worry about another opponent."

The Cadets enter the matchup 1-1 following a 36-28 loss to Monrovia on Friday.

The Cougars travel to Cascade for a 7 p.m. kickoff on Friday.

At North Putnam
Southmont.................6 0 12 0 -- 18
North Putnam.............0 0 0 0 -- 0