Menu
FOOTBALL FRIDAY: NP, Cascade meet in battle of unbeatens; Clovers aim for bounce-back; Greencastle welcomes ranked Linton; South Putnam hits road to battle West Vigo
North Putnam football is putting together a season in which not just people in Putnam County are starting to pay attention to. The 5-0 Cougars are coming off a 37-26 win over Cloverdale and will now hit the road for one of their toughest matchups of the season when they take on the also 5-0 Cascade Cadets.
Cloverdale, which sits a 3-2 after last week’s loss to North Putnam, will try to get back in the win column when it hosts South Decatur who also sits at 3-2 and are winners of three straight games after an 0-2 start.
Greencastle rugged slate continues when the 2-3 Tiger Cubs welcome the ranked Linton-Stockton Miners to town who come in 3-2. Greencastle needed an overtime field goal to defeat Indian Creek 17-14 while the Miners also played a tight affair with Boonville in a 21-20 loss.
Rounding out the four county schools, the South Putnam Eagles are coming off a 49-0 dismantling over Edgewood and come in a 3-2 as they make the trek to take on a West Vigo team that comes in 2-3.
North Putnam is off to its best start since 2019 and if the Cougars are able to take down the Cadets, it’d be their best start since 2011. The Cougars have been a balanced attack all season long as they’ve thrown for 1,074 yards and ran for 1,220. Junior Christian Kramer has been the engine that has driven the Cougar offense as the signal caller is the top ranked player in the state in terms of total yardage with 1,897 yards and 19 total trips to the end zone. Wes Murphy has added 329 yards on the ground with six scores.
The Cougar receivers have shown improvement as the season has progressed also with Griffin Starr having 349 yards, Murphy 266, and big-play maker Kaden Helderman who has 223 yards and is averaging 27.9 per catch.
North Putnam’s defense is giving up 23.2 a contest and has been susceptible to giving up some big plays.
On the flip side for the Cadets, they have dominated their opposition the last three weeks out-scoring them 133-6. Their closest game came all the way back in week one when they defeated Indian Creek 21-18.
The Cadets run an option heavy style with junior quarterback Brady Trebley manning the offense. Trebley has only thrown 59 passes through five games but has completed 36 of those attempts for 412 yards and four TD’s. The Cadets have dominated the ground game as they’re gashing opponents for 334 yards per game with junior Dayton Mink have 504 yards and eight scores. Trebley himself has 276 yards and five touchdowns with sophomore Lucas Farmer (24-321), senior Daemen Mason (21-199), junior Toby Savini (15-154) and Marcus Hobson (11-116) all having more than 100 yards on the season for the Cadets.
One team will suffer its first loss in this future Monon Athletic Conference contest while the other will keep its perfect season intact.
Cloverdale turned some heads last week despite their loss to North Putnam. The Clovers didn’t let the high-powered Cougar offense completely blow them out of the water as their offense made enough plays while the defense forced three turnovers. Now the Clovers are back home for homecoming and look to get back in the win column against South Decatur.
Weather, will take a bit of a toll on the homecoming festivities, though. The actual crowning of the homecoming court will take place during the afternoon in the CHS gym, while the game itself will be played a few miles north on South Putnam's turf field.
The Clovers will be looking for their fourth win of the season as will the visiting Cougars as both teams come in 3-2.
Landon Duncan on the season has been excellent of the Clover offense as the junior signal caller has thrown for 982 yards, 19 touchdowns and just two interceptions. Add in the dynamic play of seniors Tayt Jackson and Levi Johnson and the Cloverdale offense is scoring 46.8 points per game. Yes, that is highlighted by wins of 71-0 and 62-0, however against Riverton Parke Cloverdale scored 33, Brown County 42, against a very good Cougar squad 26.
South Decatur on offense runs through one man and that would be senior running back Corbin Johnson. Johnson has 945 yards and 15 touchdowns through five games on just 78 attempts (12.1 per carry). Johnson is also the leading receiver with seven catches for 120 yards.
A win for the Clovers would mean their fourth win on the season and give them some momentum heading into the final stretch.
The topsy-turvy season for the Tiger Cubs continued last week and thankfully it resulted in a win. It took overtime against Indian Creek but thanks to the leg of Ian Williamson, the Tiger Cubs were 17-14 winners. This week however, Greencastle knows it will have to play much better when their homestead continues against the Linton-Stockton Miners.
The always-talented and tough Miners sit at 3-2 and depending on which poll you’re looking at sit anywhere from eighth to tenth in Class 2A.
Sophomore Cole Stephens continues to lead the Tiger Cub offense with 1,037 yards through the air with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions. The duo of Brayden Monroe (45-269) and Cayden Blodgett (32-198) pace the ground game. Williamson has been the main target for Stephens with 21 catches for 403 yards and five TD’s with Anthony Adams having 24 receptions for 294 yards and three scores.
Linton-Stockton has a potent ground attack with senior Jesse Voigtschild having 475 yards on 77 attempts. Junior Russell Goodman has five touchdowns but only 180 yards. Senior Braylon McBride runs the Miner offense with 553 yards through the air and just three touchdowns.
The Miners and Tiger Cubs do share the same tough schedule. While the Tiger Cubs have taken on Monrovia, Northview, West Vigo, South Putnam, and Indian Creek (with even more tough teams left to play), Linton battled Marion Local (OH), Monrovia, Western, Sullivan and Boonville.
Both teams need a win, but only one will come out on top.
South Putnam has navigated its first-half schedule and now sees the slate lighten up as the Eagles come in to Friday’s road battle with West Vigo. The 49-0 thrashing of Edgewood last week made it two straight wins while West Vigo is looking for its second straight win after 50-29 win over Brown County.
It’s been the ground game that’s had success for the Eagles so far this season. Sophomore Ty Benton has racked up 497 yards on 80 carries while fellow sophomore Brier Cook churning out 230 yards with senior QB Wyatt Mullin adding 215 of his own.
Mullin and his receivers have struggled through the air this season as Mullin is just 44-100 for 553 yards and six TD’s. Brayson Ensor is Mullin’s go-to target with 19 catches for 355 yards. The Eagle offense is beginning to find its rhythm as after being held under 30 points the first three games, they’ve exploded for games of 41 and 49 with their defense only surrounding 14 points of their own.
West Vigo has leaned on the running game so far this season with senior Jacob Dewey having 540 yards and seven scores while the junior duo of Ryan Cobb (37-333) and Connor Wallace (23-275) have been complimentary pieces.
Junior signal caller Landon Fields is just 24-49 through five games with 288 yards with a single touchdown and six interceptions.
South Putnam has big goals this season and with the second half of the season getting under way, the Eagles are looking to soar into the final month.