South Putnam ready to entertain Monrovia for sectional championship

It may be a new year and a new classification, but the goal remains the same for the South Putnam football team -- advance to Lucas Oil Stadium and capture a state title. 

Chuck Sorrell's Eagles have an opportunity to take one more step towards that goal Friday, hosting Monrovia (5-6) for the Class 2A Sectional 38 championship. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and pregame coverage can be heard on 94.3 WREB at 6:30 p.m. 

"We are trying to get our first state level championship of the season. We have won two in a row and are trying to get our third in a row. We are healthy and have a pretty good team, I think. We will see what we can do with Monrovia Friday night," Sorrell told The Putnam County Post. 

South Putnam (11-0) advanced to the sectional championship game after defeating county foe, Greencastle, 56-0. It marked the sixth shutout of the season for South Putnam, whose starting defense has only allowed 19 points and, as a unit, is surrendering only 6.6 points per game. 

In the game, the Tiger Cubs were able to move the ball at times against South Putnam's defense, but the Eagles kept Greencastle off the scoreboard. 

"Our defense continues to get stops, get us off the field and we are able to score. Ty Benton continues to run the ball well. Offensively, we played well. Ty and Brier (Cook) only had seven carries. Drew (Cline) was 8-of-9. Everything was efficient, and we had 400-plus yards and 56 points," Sorrell said. 

The Bulldogs defeated North Putnam, 42-32, to advance to the final. 

Andy Olson's team is scoring an average of 23 points per game and allowing an average of 26.5 points per game. Monrovia opened the season 1-3 with losses to Cascade, Tri-West and Indian Creek. 

After a one point loss to Triton Central to open October, the Bulldogs have won three of their last four games. 

Sorrell said when he watches Monrovia on film, it reminds him of a team the Eagles recently played. 

"They are physical. They are a lot like Cascade. Their wing starts in a different spot. The offensive line cuts you, and you have to get your hands on their offensive line before they get to you. We have to come up with some game plans to stop that, and that helps us as it keeps us in the box to try and stop their run. We have a good chance of doing what we do on defense against them," Sorrell said. 

While he expects his team to play well, Sorrell said the biggest thing his team will need to do is "steal possessions."

"Against Indian Creek, their first drive went for eight minutes. The clock starts at 12, and Indian Creek didn't get the ball until there was four left. They didn't score, but they took eight minutes off the clock. How do you gain possessions? How do you get possessions against a team that goes two or three yards at a time and tries to get under your skin? We have to gain a possession or two because you aren't going to get many against a team like this. We played this two weeks ago against a really good Cascade team. It helps us game plan and find what our weaknesses were against Cascade. Monrovia has that Cascade film and will try to do what Cascade did against us," Sorrell said. 

While the two teams have not played since 2014, Sorrell said his players are very familiar with Monrovia's roster. 

"The thing about this Monrovia team is when our kids were in first grade through eighth grade, they played these guys. The only difference is we don't play them in high school. We now have a chance to play all the kids they've played their whole lives, and that's kind of cool. Our kids know the names if we say them and remember them from when they were fifth and sixth graders. There is a lot of history with Monrovia and South Putnam, a lot of championships and state championships. They are similar teams built on hard nose, tough communities whose fans love their sports," he said. 

What will it take for the Eagles to pick up a win?

"We have to gain possessions, stop the run and get under their pads more than they get under ours. When we get the ball, we have to do what we do. They are going to keep a lot of guys in the box, and we have to make sure we get on our blocks and stay on our blocks. It will be a physical game. We have won all the physicality battles this year, and it is another opportunity to win a physical battle. It starts up front, and I think if we can do that, and get the ball to our playmakers, we are tough to beat. We score 56 points a game and are pretty good on offense, too," Sorrell said.