Putnam County's defense dominates in an 18-0 win over Salisbury in the State Quarterfinals

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by Jeremy Benson, Grand River Conference Media LLC

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Behind a strong defensive performance, the Putnam County Midgets knocked off the Salisbury Panthers 18-0 on Friday night. The win marked the second time in school history that Putnam County won a State Quarterfinal game. They also knocked off Monroe City 24-23 in the 1989 Class 2A Quarterfinal.

The weather was a factor in the game, with light rain most of the night. Players were slipping all over the field, and neither team found the end zone in the first half. Putnam had two drives in Salisbury territory, but turned it over on 4th down both times. Salisbury ended their first four drives with punts and another with an incomplete pass on 4th and 16.

Putnam County coach Adam Huse said, "You get 2 teams averaging 50 points a game and you end up with a 0-0 halftime score. In this kind of atmosphere, when it's so wet and slick, it's so hard to do stuff."

The Midgets came out strong in the 2nd half when Treven Riediger returned the opening kickoff to the Salisbury 29-yard line. Several plays later, Riediger ran it in from eight yards to put the Midgets up 6-0. A Salisbury fumble at their own 31-yard line led to a 15-yard Angstrom Watt touchdown run to put the Midgets up 12-0 after the 3rd quarter.

Putnam County capped off the scoring when Watt ran it in from 20 yards on a 4th and short. Salisbury never found the end zone, and the Midgets came away with an 18-0 victory.

After the game, Coach Huse said, "I can't really put it into words how I feel. So proud of these kids and the effort they have put in since June, or really since last November, when we lost to North Platte in the District Semifinal. The kids have that taste in their mouth. They never wanted it again."

Coming into the game, Salisbury averaged 51 points per game, with its lowest being 36 against Harrisburg. Coach Huse praised defensive coordinator Brian Mayer, saying, "He comes up with great game plans. Those guys have such love and respect for [Coach Mayer] that they fly around, and they are fast and physical."  

The Midgets were able to contain a great running back in Brayden White. Coach Huse added, "We knew if we forced him to go north and south, before he wanted to, that we would be very successful. If you let him get to the edge and turn it up, he is extremely fast. We felt like we had the outside guys to be able to cover it up."

Watt became the third Midget running back to pass 1,000 yards on the season, joining Riediger and Corbin Campbell-Johnson.  Watt scored the final two touchdowns to ice the game for the Midgets. Coach Huse said, "We wanted to make sure that we got him to 1,000 yards tonight. So he was a big focal point. We wanted to make sure we kept feeding him, especially in the 2nd half. He's a punishing runner, and so he makes it very hard to tackle him."

Putnam County will make a long trip to the Bootheel to face the Hayti Indians next Saturday at 1:00 pm. The Midgets will be trying to make their 2nd trip to the State Championship Game in school history.

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