By Mike McGraw
Executive Director
GREENCASTLE – First impressions can be deceiving. Class A No. 4 Rockville held host South Putnam without a first down on the Eagles’ first two possessions Sept. 4. Meanwhile, the Rox marched into South Putnam territory on their first try before the drive stalled out.
It appeared Rockville was going to control the line of scrimmage in a game that was going to be decided by power running games. As it turned out, nothing could have been further from the truth.
South Putnam – unranked by the state’s coaches but No. 10 in the 2A Associated Press poll – seized control up front and just dominated the remainder of the game on its way to a 34-6 victory in the matchup of two undefeated squads.
South Putnam senior running back Drew Cash will get most of the headlines from this game, and rightfully so. He rushed 37 times for 162 yards, repeatedly gouging the interior of the Rockville defensive line for key yardage.
Yet it was one minute worth of play from junior backup quarterback Grant Zimmerman that changed the entire evening for the host school.
On their fourth possession of the game, the Eagles drove from their own 41 to the 35 of Rockville only to stall and face a 4th and 8. Zimmerman entered the contest and connected on a 15-yard pass to keep the drive going. On the next two plays, he scampered for gains of eight and seven yards to give South Putnam 1st and goal at the 5.
Cash took care of the rest with a gallop into the end zone. The Eagles led 7-0 early in the second quarter, and they struck again late in the half on a 47-yard, three-play drive capped by a three-yard Cash jaunt.
Entering the second half, the question was whether Rockville could make adjustments to regain the control the Rox had early in the contest. Within minutes, however, the question was how long they would even remain in the game.
South Putnam returned the opening kickoff of the second half to the Rockville 29, then used seven methodical plays to again dent the scoreboard. The score came on Cash’s third touchdown run of the night, this time from a yard out.
From that point, the rout was on. The Eagles controlled both sides of the line of scrimmage, using up large chunks of clock every time they touched the ball.
By the time Rockville mounted its first sustained drive, the Rox were trailing 27-0 late in the fourth quarter. Sophomore quarterback Clint White finally had some success through the air, finishing the drive by hitting senior Drew Kelley with a 15-yard TD pass.
The celebration was short-lived.
South Putnam sophomore Zach Smith returned the ensuing kickoff 77 yards for a touchdown to conclude the night’s scoring.
There is one seemingly insignificant play in this game worth noting. South Putnam placekicker Jake Gould attempted a 49-yard field goal late in the third quarter. The attempt was no good, but it was because the kick was wide left. It had plenty of distance to clear the crossbar.
That kind of a weapon in the kicking game for a small school could be a huge factor at tourney time.
The result of this contest ensures that the West Central Conference will have three teams highly rated in at least one of the 2A polls next week. Those teams are undefeated Speedway, South Putnam, and Monrovia.
It should be a very interesting home stretch to the WCC race.
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