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FOOTBALL PREVIEWS: 2023 North Putnam Cougars
After a lull in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, North Putnam brought a level of excitement to games in the 2022 campaign under first-year head coach Scott Moore, eventually getting things to click late in the season with three wins to close out the regular season until running into Sullivan in sectional play.
While the Cougars graduated off several key players, a second season in Moore’s system has helped the team get into gear much more quickly ahead of the 2023 schedule.
“Being year two in our system, we went into summer with a very good foundation of what we expect and how we operate our base system on both sides of the ball,” Moore said. “That allowed us to spend more time on the finer details and we progressed faster on both side of the ball.
“We feel we are way ahead of where we were last year. We have just enough guys with experience back from last year while still having guys, even if it’s their first time starting, that have experience in the system that they’ve picked up on things and we’re excited that everyone was ready to hit the ground running.”
The Cougars changed scrimmage partners this season, taking on Edgewood, with Moore liking several things the team did against a Mustang squad in the midst of a revamp of their own.
“Edgewood has a new coaching staff and coach (Scott) Fischer has done a good job of getting the numbers up for them,” Moore said. “They’ve got good athletes as a 4A school and it was a great scrimmage for us.
“We had success on both sides of the ball but also saw a lot of things to work on and fine tune. There were plenty of positives but we also understand that when the lights come on, it’s go time.”
Christian Kramer will take even more command of the offense as a sophomore, having throw for 2,200 yards as a freshman with Moore excited by how much Kramer had not only taken command of the playbook but over the offense as a whole.
“Christian worked his tail off this offseason, putting some good weight on by working hard in the weight room and went to several camps this offseason,” Moore said. “His grasp of the offense is much better; he understands if we want to do variations on plays, understands why we run plays, asks great questions and it has translated into him being a leader on the field as a sophomore.
“The experience he has is very positive. There are still some signs of being a young players but, at the end of the day, he loves football and wants to be the best version of himself possible.”
The biggest gap in the North Putnam offense comes in the loss of Putnam County Offensive Player of the Year Noah Claycomb, who rushed for 1,600 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2022.
Braden Glaze will be tasked with taking on the starting role at running back Caiden Hankins also expected to get some work as a sophomore.
“The biggest transition has been from moving Braden to running back as he played a lot of receiver last year,” Moore said. “He also played as a safety and is now a linebacker but both changes are good fits as he was a running back when he was younger and it’s a naturally better fit for him.
“He had a great summer, ran well in the scrimmages and picked up on his duties as a running back very quickly. He’s a great senior leader and we expect big things from him.
“Caiden was our workhorse back on the JV team on Saturday and he’ll get some reps as well,” Moore added. “It’s tough to replace Noah, as it is all seniors, but we’re in a good spot where we’re at and hope to continue to run the ball effectively.”
The receiving corps also took a hit with Claycomb, Myles Bryan and Arrick Kramer all graduating, leaving sophomore Wes Murphy as the team’s leading returning receiver, joined by Neal Bryan, Bryson Staggs and Paxton O’Brien in the skill positions.
“Wes had to play a lot as a freshman, as did several others on defense, and as an inside receiver, we’ll move him around a lot,” Moore said. “Neal Bryan will step in for Myles Bryan, who was a senior, on both sides, moving from tight end to the other slot receiver while Paxton is versatile in that we can run him out wide or inside at the tight end spot.
“We got a couple of brothers out in Brogan and Braxton Woodall with Brogan being a receiver and having a great summer. We look for him to have a fun season. Our depth at receiver might be the best position group on the team as we have guys like Brody Kinkead, Braxton Mitchell and Nolan Patrick available.
“Bryson is fighting through a bit of injury but we look for him to have a good senior season as well and feel confident with where we’re at,” Moore added.
The offensive line will also have to be reconfigured with several spots open due to graduation with Jayden Laffin offering experience to build around as Braxton Woodall, Jesse Bryan, Gavin Payne and Beckett Braeger try to piece things together quickly.
“Braxton Woodall will be a tackle for us while Jayden Laffin returns as a senior and will start on both sides of the ball,” Moore noted. “He had a great summer and you can tell he is a senior that has played varsity ball.
“Jesse Bryan is a senior and, while not playing as much offensive line before, was an All-County defensive end and will play both sides of the line. We have a couple of sophomores in Gavin Payne, who will play at center, and Beckett Braeger, who played tight end last year but had a big grown spurt and is now at tackle.”
Several linemen will go both ways while Moore said there were some players that could step in and offer more along the front line as they get used to varsity football.
“Braxton Woodall, Jayden and Jesse will be up front as our defensive line is a strong point for us,” Moore said. “Chase Abdon isn’t quite as tall as the others but has good technique up front.
“Paxton is someone we can more around and do things with him while Hank Wood is another sophomore that is a backup on the offensive line but could be a one-way player on defense for us. Bryson was a starter and defensive end and while we wait for him to return, we feel comfortable across the defensive line.”
The linebacker corps will have some experience as Hankins and Glaze started on defense, though the latter will move down from the secondary to do so.
“Caiden ended up starting some games for us at linebacker last year, making some big plays in the overtime game against Greencastle, and is going replace Lucas Murphy as the quarterback of our defense,” Moore said. “Braden will move down from safety to linebacker on the inside while Brody Kinkead will be a one-way player on defense for now. He’s learning the game, is a strong kid and we’re really excited about his play.
“Braxton Mitchell also started a few games on defense due to injury last year and we’re looking for him to continue to get better. We have to replace a lot in our linebacking positions but we’ve had so many young guys that got experience, we feel comfortable with the sophomores and juniors playing there and specializing in those spots.”
Murphy will return in the secondary as Moore said there were several options in the other coverage positions.
“Wes was able to play both sides as a freshman, so he has experience in the secondary,” Moore said. “Neal Bryan started most games at corner last year while Brogan Woodall is a newcomer that will play at the other corner.
“We feel confident in our backups and Christian can play in the secondary if called on while Nolan Patrick got some experience this summer.”
Evan Polley will return for kicking duties but will also be working with younger brother Isaac Polley to keep special teams going smoothly.
“Evan is the man in kicking and is a very consistent, cognitive kid who can pick up on things quickly while we’re confident to kick field goals if we have to this year,” Moore said. “He is grooming his younger brother, Isaac, to get him ready for when he’s gone.
“While Isaac has kicked often, he is a good athlete that can step in and kick extra points right away. It’s beneficial to have him as a backup. On the other end, Wes and Brogan Woodall will be back for kick and punt returns.”
North Putnam starts off with a hard-hitting quartet of games against North Montgomery, Southmont, South Putnam and Covenant Christian, games that the Cougars were competitive in during the 2022 season but fell short in.
Moore said the start of the year would be better for the current squad but there was still plenty of work to be ready to tackle those games as well as the rest of the schedule ahead of the 2023 season.
“We understand it’s a challenging start to the season but we can’t make excuses for ourselves,” Moore said. “We have to rise up when hardship and adversity happen.
“In year two, we’re not having to do the same things we did last year, which means we can progress faster and be ready to execute on both sides of the ball. Some of the early games last year got away from us and look lopsided in the end but we moved the ball well in a lot of those games but did something silly, whether it was a turnover or giving up a big play on fourth down and the snowball started up from there.
“We felt confident going into every game and while things didn’t always go our way, the group understood our expectations. Now, we want to not get behind and play catchup all the time.
“We want to prepare ourselves better throughout the week and execute at a high level consistently,” Moore added. “We challenged the kids to have butterflies and some nerves early in the week but to get so well prepared that by the time Friday rolls around, we’re out playing, having fun and enjoying the moment.
“These opportunities don’t come around very often and we want to make the most out of the chances we get.”