South Putnam's Mowery-Shields cements status as elite tackler

With his high school football career winding down and eyeing another trip to Lucas Oil Stadium, South Putnam senior defensive end Keenan Mowery-Shields doesn't have time to be sentimental. 

Mowery-Shields has already cemented himself as not only one of the best to ever wear an Eagles jersey, but he is one of the nation's premier tacklers statistically. 

"That's not something I have thought into much. I didn't even think about that. It is meaningful to me, but what matters is we have another game left. Hopefully, we can play another game at Lucas Oil. That's what matters. My focus isn't on being sentimental, but, rather, what can I do to get to the next game. All that matters is getting the job done," Mowery-Shields told The Putnam County Post. 

Rather than get caught up in that, he was focused solely on winning a third straight regional title Friday and guiding South Putnam back to Lucas Oil Stadium later this month for a Class 2A state championship game. 

"I never really thought about putting South Putnam on a national map. That's never really been my goal. It is has always just been to push myself and my teammates to the best of our possibilities, do the little things right and maximize what I can do. I don't want to go out of high school with any regrets. I have told myself that since I was a freshman. We have an opportunity to leave a legacy behind and do it for the whole community and all the little kids who look up to us," Mowery-Shields said. 

Rather than focus on another week of football, or the next opponent, Mowery-Shields admits he has always focused on the present. 

"I always wanted to make the best of what I had and push myself to be better, never get satisfied and never focus on what I have accomplished. I always want to look at how can I get better, and I want to carry that on. That is something our team has done well. Winning state was important and cool, but that doesn't matter to our team this year, as we have something more important to focus on this year," he said. 

Mowery-Shields has been part of a senior class that has cemented itself as one of the greatest to ever suit up for South Putnam. As a sophomore, he helped lead the Eagles to a Class A semi-state loss against Providence. Last year, he was instrumental in South Putnam capturing the Class A state crown, and this year, he has paced a starting defense that was only been scored on by Cascade and Monrovia through twelve weeks.

"It has all factored in. You don't forgot those losses. You don't forget the way people felt and the way the seniors felt. You remember the emotions of being almost there and failing. The Providence game was especially tough. We were enjoying Thanksgiving and listening to everyone talk about how the team we were one play away from beating is handling the other team and we had to think we would have been in a good situation. We lost seniors and had to deal with people telling us what we would and wouldn't be. Last year, we lost to Edgewood and had some wake up calls, and realized we had to push ourselves we had to push ourselves to a level we haven't been to before," he said. 

On the season, Mowery-Shields has notched 165 total tackles, 41-and-a-half tackles for a loss, 11 sacks, 35 quarterback hurries, two pass deflections, a fumble recovery and three forced fumbles. 

He is the heart and soul of a unit that has surrendered an average of just over seven points per game and has shut out six opponents. 

The senior defensive end said the success can be traced back to the entire defensive unit. 

"I am not shocked. We have a lot of talent and a lot of guys who want to do good. We all trust each other, and that is the biggest thing. Against Monrovia, we were down 12-7, but there was never a doubt in my mind. We knew we had each other's backs, and that is a big thing. We all believe there is no lack of trust. We all trust each other and believe in each other. We had a lot of teams close to scoring earlier in the season, and looking back, it is shocking they didn't score at all. We didn't want to focus on it that much, but it is something that was in our minds," Mowery-Shields said. 

Winning a third sectional in a row was an "awesome" feeling, according to the senior standout. 

"There has been a lot of work put in by all the players, especially the seniors. We are building something for the younger players to continue, and, hopefully, they can do that. It has been amazing, especially going from that first year of losing in the sectionals to growing as a team and doing bigger and better things. We all have our goals set on one thing, and we have to take it week by week," he said. 

When his high school days are over, Mowery-Shields will play at the next level, having committed to Lindenwood. 

"I am really excited about that and excited about playing in college and prove myself. This isn't where it ends. I want to go there and make a statement and prove that I can play there and do great things there. Of the opportunities on the table, I felt like they were the best fit and best opportunity. It felt right, and I didn't want to pass up on the opportunity. I have enjoyed building the relationship with them, feel like I fit in there and I didn't want to pass it up," Mowery-Shields said.