North Putnam holds on for 12-6 win over Mounties

Gage Bell of North Putnam tries to escape a Southmont defender on Friday night. Bell had a six-yard TD run in the first quarter.

NEW MARKET -- The phrase "the best offense is a good defense" came to fruition Friday for a Cougar team that has yet to see a loss this season.

North Putnam (2-0) put up a tough front against a talented Southmont squad (0-2) in a defensive game that was tied at six into the final minutes.

And the play of the game arguably came at just that mark when Cougar senior running back Corbin Judy rolled out to his right for a halfback pass, hooking up with fellow senior Luke Mitchel, making his only catch of the night, a 24-yard strike that put the Cougars on the right side of a 12-6 score.

Despite a subsequent eight-play passing resurgence by the Mounties, the Cougars held on for the win, putting the final nail in the coffin when North Putnam junior Ethan Christy intercepted a pass from Mountie sophomore quarterback Hunter Chadwick with just 30 seconds remaining to effectively end the game.

North Putnam coach Greg Barrett explained after the game exactly what the difference was between winning and losing Friday.

"In a game like this, you know it's going to be defense -- it's going to come down to the least amount of turnovers and we took advantage of that tonight," Barrett said after addressing a still-energetic Cougar crew. "The goal-line stand was huge."

The stand to which Barrett was referring was a staunch performance by the Cougar defense midway through the third quarter when the Mounties (with a 10-play, 61-yard drive) pushed the ball all the way to the Cougars' one-yard line and, on fourth-and-goal, turned over the ball on downs after being unable to penetrate the defensive line.

"Unfortunately we had a mistake in the first half when we should have gone up by two scores," Barrett said. "But it happens. We rebounded. We didn't drop our heads; we kept going and kept fighting."

Turnovers played a big role Friday with North Putnam recovering three of Southmont's fumbles. Though North committed five fumbles of its own, the Cougars recovered all but one.

"I love these guys, they fight," Barrett added. "They have a lot of confidence, they're leaders and they don't get their heads down."

The Cougars' first score came early in the first quarter when junior running back Gage Bell scampered in for a six-yard run to put the first points on the scoreboard for either team.

North Putnam returns to action on Friday at South Putnam High School.

North Putnam 6 0 0 6 -- 12

Southmont 0 6 0 0 -- 6

NP -- Bell, 6 run (Hayes kick no good) 6-0 Q1 4:03

S -- Nunemaker, 19 run (Zachary kick no good) 6-6 Q2 2:45

NP -- Judy, 24 pass to Mitchel (Hayes kick no good) 12-6 Q4 1:51

N S

First Downs 10 8

Rushes-yards 45-154 31-65

Passing-yards 53 131

Comp-Att-Int 6-7-0 7-10-1

Total Offense 52-203 41-196

Punts-Avg 1-32.0 1-20.0

Fumbles-lost 5-1 4-3

Penalties-yards 5-50 2-15

Individual Statistics

Rushing -- North Putnam: Caleb Duncan 5-18, Corbin Judy 2-2, Hayden Rudes 13-(-8), Gage Bell 8-57, Max Haste 3-2, Ethan Christy 11-71. Southmont: Kyle Nunemaker 15-63, Hunter Chadwick 10-31, Antonio Burks 4-30, Boone Welliever 2-(-6), Dakota Ball 2-1.

Passing -- North Putnam: Rudes 4-5 41, Judy 2-2 28. Southmont: Chadwick 7-10 93.

Receiving -- North Putnam: Haste 2-16, Judy 1-7, Mitchel 1-24, Christy 2-12. Southmont: Welliever 2-20, Nunemaker 1-23, Swick 3-66, McManus 2-22.