Menu
Eagles march on with 45-29 victory
After a high-scoring first half by both teams in the sectional football matchup, South Putnam took control on both sides of the ball and finished West Washington off for a 45-29 win.
Friday's game started slow until Lucas Lorian was able to forced a fumble that Kyle Shaffer recovered.
South Putnam was the first on the scoreboard when Lorian took a 27-yard run into Senator territory and Shaffer connected with Jimmy Rutter for a 22-yard touchdown pass.
West Washington struck back quickly with a 77-yard bomb to tie the game.
The Eagles would not be moved by the big play, mustering up a big play of their own when Shaffer, scrambling around in the backfield, tossed an 86-yard pass to Rutter on a third-and-19 for the score.
"Kyle Shaffer and Jimmy Rutter astound me every week," teammate Zane Yon said. "Every single week they bring it and they do it. They are doing a great job and they always know how to make plays."
The Senators then used a big return, shortly into the second quarter, to push the ball into the end-zone with Brenden Grimes, tying the score at 14.
West Washington got the ball again but it was intercepted by Lorian on a quick pass. On offense, he then ran twice and scored a touchdown.
However before halftime the Senators put together a drive and managed to tie it up at 21.
"I'm really proud of how the kids came out and battled," South Putnam coach Nathan Aker said. "We've struggled in the first half this year. To come out and put 21 up is big. We played pretty good defense even though we gave up some big plays."
With the offense moving and the defenses struggling, the Eagles went into the break feeling quite confident.
"We had a great feeling at halftime," Aker said. "We knew inside there that there wasn't any magic adjustment or anything. We've just got to play. What our boys did in the third quarter was unreal."
That unreal quarter began with Lorian running behind his offensive line, marching deep into Senator territory before Yon followed it up with a three-yard TD.
"I'm really proud of the coaching staff," Aker said. "These guys have done a great job all year. They battle. They get things ready to go. The kids are really responding well. I feel like we are hitting this at the right time of the year."
The coaching staff was making the right calls on defense as well. Yon and Joey Masters were able to stall a drive with a big second-down sack.
"It's the coaching adjustments," Yon said. "Our coaches know what they are doing. Also it's conditioning. So it's conditioning and our coaches know how to adjust."
West Washington was having trouble adjusting to Lorian, who continued to pound away at the defensive line. Shaffer was also able to contribute to a drive that put South Putnam up 35-21 when Lorian ran it in from five yards out.
The total team effort did not end there. On a drive that had already been marred by Masters nearly causing a fumble-turnover, Daniel Grundlock took an interception 65 yards and into the end zone, doubling the visiting team's score 42-21.
"I'm proud of the guys that have bounced around," Aker said. "Our whole team does it. We don't have a huge team. Kids like Christian Zeffel at both wide receiver and DB. Kyle Hall has been injured practically all year. He came back last week and saved our ship a little bit there. In the third quarter he was playing some fullback and he did it again. It's like having four guys back. "
South Putnam's Trevor Long ended the next Senator drive with a sack and Yon finished off his game with a 27-yard field goal.
West Washington withstood a huge hit by Masters and was able to get a last-minute score and two-point conversion but the game was decided and the Eagles walked off with a 45-29 win.
South Putnam will travel to Lutheran next Saturday to try and earn a trip to the sectional championship game.
At South Putnam
West Washington 7 14 0 8 -- 29
South Putnam 14 7 14 10 -- 45
Team Stats
South Putnam
Total Yards: 420
Rushing: (att-yd) 36-288
Passing: (comp-att-yd) 5-8-123
Individual stats
Rushing: (att-yd) Lorian 21-243 2 TD; Yon 12-36 TD; Shaffer 5-39
Passing: (comp-att-yd) Shaffer 4-7-123 2 TD
Receving: (comp-yd) Rutter 4-130 2 TD