South Putnam aims to close out the regular season undefeated

South Putnam last finished an undefeated regular season in 2020.

In head coach Chuck Sorrell's second season, the Eagles finished 12-1, falling to Covenant Christian in the regional round of the Class A tournament. 

This year's team has a chance not only to finish the regular season undefeated but also to continue the starting defense's solid play of not allowing a point. 

Through eight weeks, South Putnam's starting defense has not allowed a point all season. This defense, which has not been scored on since Sept. 11, is giving up only five points per game, has posted four shutouts and has held teams to seven points or less six times. 

"You don't always get excited, and you aren't always happy about the effort the scout team gives you during the week, but our scout team has prepared us well enough where we have been ready the last eight weeks. They have to run different sets and give us the looks we need to be successful on defense. That is the biggest part of being successful on defense, getting plays run in practice so we can mimic what will happen in games. Our defense is really good right now. There's not many holes. We have created a lot of turnovers this season," Sorrell said. 

Sorrell said he benefited from his assistant coaches keeping him informed and allowing him to make adjustments as the season has progressed. 

"My assistants do a good job of getting in my ear, telling me where the weakness is, what we need to do and what kind of calls I need to get our guys lined up in the right spots. When the whistle blows, those 11 guys have to swarm the football, tackle the football and, if the ball is thrown in the air, they have to defend. They hit and when you watch our defense, it is mean. We hit really hard, and I think teams don't see that until we hit you a few times and it's a rough night," Sorrell said. 

Last week, the Eagles overcame a pregame that Sorrell wasn't pleased with and defeated Owen Valley, 64-0. The win gave South Putnam an outright claim to the Western Indiana Conference title. 

"One of the goals we had coming into the season was to win the WIC. That was our first goal of the season, and we knocked off some good teams to do that. We are proud we don't have to share it with anyone, and we took care of business, made sure we took care of business, and hats off to our kids," Sorrell said. 

In the win, where the Eagles exploded for 40 points in the second quarter, Ty Benton rushed for 149 yards and a touchdown on eight carries, while quarterback Drew Cline was 8-of-9 for 169 yards and three touchdowns. 

According to Sorrell, getting off to a fast start and avoiding a letdown the week after defeating then top-10 ranked Class 4A Northview was huge. 

"It is one of those things where I wasn't real excited about how we were in pregame. You could feel a letdown coming, and I told the guys that I hoped once the clock started, the business trip started, and it did. We got off to a 21-0 start, and you couldn't tell we were unhappy about the pregame, but it is what good teams do. A lot of guys played really well Friday night. It went from four scores to 60 points real quick with three defensive scores," Sorrell said. 

This week, South Putnam has another chance to cross off another goal and that is capturing a Putnam County championship, as the Eagles travel to Cloverdale (6-2). 

"They have really good skill players, and they do what they do. They run counter and inside zone really effectively, and if you fall asleep, they are going to throw the ball out to the edges. Trey Schabel is a stud receiver, and we have to make sure we don't let him get us for a couple hundred yards like he has other teams. Coach Lotz knows we are going to cover Trey. We will see if they can block us up front, and if they can block us, they will have a chance. If they can't block us, then it will be in our favor. Coach Lotz will have a good game plan, and his kids have to be excited because in the jamboree, they drove it right down and scored on us. That gives them a little bit of excitement that they can score on our defense. We will see," Sorrell said. 

If South Putnam wins, it will be because of the play of both the offensive and defensive lines, according to Sorrell.

"If our offensive line dominates and gives Drew, Ty and Brier Cook time, we have a good chance of beating Cloverdale. On the other side, we have to do a good job of getting after the quarterback and the back end has to do its job," Sorrell said.