North Putnam looks to pick off one of the Monon leaders with road trip to Southmont

With the Putnam County Bucket in its possession the remainder of the football season, North Putnam is looking to close out the regular season with plenty of victories.

Backed by seven touchdowns from quarterback Owen Thurman, the Cougars upended rival Greencastle, 56-28 last week to secure the bucket. Thurman rushed 20 times for 146 yards and five touchdowns, while going 16-of-20 for 265 yards and two more touchdowns through the air. On the night, Thurman totaled 411 yards for North Putnam, who churned out 532 yards of total offense. 

Head coach Scott Moore had nothing but praise for his senior signal caller. 

"Owen has done a tremendous job stepping into a new offensive role. He has played safety for us on defense since his sophomore season so we know how good he can be there. He has continued to improve throughout the season and was able to have a big night in all aspects of the game on Friday. Very proud of him and he deserves it because he works his butt off and is a great teammate," Moore told The Putnam County Post. 

The win improved the Cougars to 3-2 overall, 2-1 in the Monon Athletic Conference and was the second victory in a row for North Putnam. And, perhaps, most importantly, it snapped a four game losing streak to the Tiger Cubs. 

"Greencastle has been a game that we haven’t been able to get the last few seasons so it was a great win Friday anytime you can get a rival and a good program like that. Very proud of our guys and I know they wanted that one badly. But at the end of the day it is just another game so we have to use the good and bad to get better for the next week and the rest of the season. It was a big team moral win however and hopefully it can keep us fired up for the second half of the season," Moore said.

After starting the season with losses to defending champions South Putnam and Cascade, the Cougars have found their own footing and the results are starting to show. 

"We are doing a great job as a team developing, continuing to trust the process and using every opportunity to try and get better. We are finding our own identity with this team. We played two really good teams in our losses and want to ultimately be able to compete at the highest level but we learned a lot about ourselves and what it takes in those losses. I am proud of this group staying with what we’re preaching as a program and it has shown itself in the games we have been able to win thus far. We know we can still get much better so we have to be excited about opportunities to practice and improve," Moore said.

According to Moore, one reason for the success has been the play of the seniors, as well as some underclassmen. 

"Our seniors have stepped up and are understanding what it means to lead and we have been proud of them. We have some sophomores playing as well and they have done a great job with adjusting to varsity football," Moore said. 

In addition, both the offensive and defensive lines have set the tone for North Putnam this season, protecting Thurman on the offensive side and getting after opposing quarterbacks on defense. 

"We always want to set the tone up front and understand how crucial those position groups are to any team’s success. They are constantly under a microscope and we coach them hard. Our line coaches have done a great job and our guys up front keep responding to challenges. They eat first, get special treatment and are respected by other members of the team because we know how important they are," Moore said.

North Putnam will look to continue its winning ways Friday at Southmont. The Mounties are 4-1 overall, 3-0 MAC and the lone loss was to Owen Valley in the second week of the season. Southmont averages 24 points per game and has allowed 11. Last week, Southmont defeated Crawfordsville, 14-10.