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FOOTBALL PREVIEWS: North Putnam Cougars
Following a pair of disappointing seasons, North Putnam will be going in a new direction in 2022 as Scott Moore takes over the Cougar football program.
The departure of 20 seniors leaves the squad light on numbers, but Moore said the squad was building itself up by turning to an uptempo style not only on offense but in practice in general.
“We want to try and be crisp in what we do at an uptempo pace while staying within oursleves,” Moore said about the offense. “We simplified a few things on Friday so we were able to get lined up and execute at a high level.
“We want to have a high percentage of plays in terms of routes and running plays as we can be well-balanced in both. We are confident in our offensive line, our backs had a great summer, we’ve now had more reps between our receiving corps and quarterback and we’re looking to improve every day.”
The Cougars scrimmaged defending Class A state champions Indianapolis Lutheran, a tall task for a suddenly young team, but Moore said the squad competed well against the Saints.
“We were able to see some things that we wanted to see as far as being out there in live action for the first time,” Moore said. “Lutheran is a great team and has built a great program with the players they have.
“We battled, responded well to the speed of the game, at times some adversity and learned a lot about ourselves and where we need to improve.
“We had a good film session over the weekend and going into this week, we have a good plan and idea of what we need to do to be successful on Friday,” Moore added.
While many of the starters for North Putnam are juniors and seniors that saw playing time last season, freshman Christian Kramer will be handed the reins at the quarterback position with Moore pleased by what he had seen from the youngster over the summer.
“Christian’s progression was awesome this summer,” Moore said about the signal caller. “He really matured, learned the offense; as a natural quarterback, the scrimmage was really good for him.
“He took some lumps but kept really great poise and got better as the scrimmage progressed. We saw what we were looking for from him.
“We’ll be able to use Arrick (Kramer) at times quarterback as well but we think Christian is ready and we’ll continue to put him in good situations to be successful,” Moore added. “There’ll be a learning curve but in time he will be a good asset for our team.”
Noah Claycomb returns at the running back position while Christian Kramer will be firing to older brother Arrick Kramer, Myles Bryan, Bryson Staggs and Braden Glaze on the outside.
Up front, the Cougars will use Trevor Roseboom, Lucas Murphy, Seth Fuhrman, Dalton Arnold and Jaden Laffin to work the trenches.
Defensively, Roseboom, Fuhrman, Laffin and Staggs will start on the defensive line with Claycomb, Murphy and Jesse Bryan as linebackers, Neal and Myles Bryan as cornerbacks and Glaze and Arrick Kramer both at safety, a lineup that will start in a 4-3 alignment that will flex into a 4-2-5 look at times.
“We’re doing a great job with understanding how to align, what our assignments are and adjusting to what the offense is doing,” Moore said. “Getting the guys in the right spot and knowing our reads is half the battle.
“The kids are asking questions when they need to, as the more reactive we can be, the faster we can play on defense; knowing what we’re doing and where we’re going allows us to do that. There are some guys in the mix, especially up front, that gives us the depth we need to give our two-way guys a break and give our role players time, especially on the defensive side of the ball.”
Evan Polley will handle kicking duties while Staggs will punt. Claycomb, Myles Bryan and Arrick Kramer will be involved in the return game.
While there were still plenty of seniors and juniors in the lineup, Moore stressed that this was a team that would very different from last season, as the Cougars head into the season opener against North Montgomery Friday.
“The big thing we’ve stressed is this is a brand new team for us,” Moore said. “We had a lot of seniors last year exit and the current seniors are getting their opportunity on the field to be leaders.
“We took some things from last year’s film and the scrimmage and feel good about the game plan. Historically, North Montgomery is a great program and coach (Josh) Thompson does a good job over there.
“They’re a physical team that does what they do well and have some good play makers as well,” Moore added. “We have to be on top of things and be ready to compete and battle for 48 minutes.”
While the group was excited to get the season under way, Moore said it was important for the team to not get too ahead of itself and make the most of opportunities when they presented themselves this season.
“Our main focus is taking it one game, one day and one practice at a time,” Moore said. “We are building the program and culture with this senior-led team and we have a lot of opportunities to make improvements week to week.
“Right now, we want to win a football game and we will prepare like that will be Friday. We know North Montgomery is a good team and not to look too far ahead.
“We have to work on the things we can control day in and day out, do things the right way and also, off the field, be good students, sons and human beings, something that we can carry over to the field,” Moore added. “We have a lot of good programs we get the opportunity to play this year and each week will be different in and of itself.
“We need to attack those opportunities as they come. We’re in a new sectional this year where might face someone again and will attack those opportunities when we get there.
“We’re not looking too far down the road, though, as we want to have a great week of practice and have some fun on Friday.”