EATONTON, Ga. — For the second time in consecutive weeks, the Social Circle High School football team faced tough odds on the football field.
And for the second time in as many outings, the Redskins battled until the final buzzer but fell.
After a close, 7-point loss a week ago to Class AAAAA Walnut Grove, the Redskins ventured to undefeated Putnam County High School Friday, falling 42-22.
With SCHS leading 15-14 at halftime, the teams traded punts to start the third quarter. On their second possession, the Redskins (2-2) went on offense inside War Eagle territory at the 48-yard line but were unable to move the football.
Putnam County (3-0) regained the lead for good with 2:34 left in the third on a 62-yard pass from Gerald Kilgore to Keywon Blue. The War Eagles elected to go for the point-after kick which Andrew Hildreth converted for a 21-15 lead.
Social Circle tried to answer the score and moved inside the Putnam 20-yard line before turning the football over on downs following some self-inflicted wounds.
The War Eagles then cushioned their lead to 28-15 after a 24-yard run by Cedrion Brundage with 6:39 remaining. The Redskins simply would not quit, however, and cut back into the lead on a 20-yard pass from Logan Cross to Mason Moore with 6:06 remaining.
On the following series, Putnam converted a fourth-and-2 play from the SCHS 48-yard line and then sealed the win on an 8-yard touchdown run by Brundage with 2:15 left.
The final score came when Michael Crumbley recovered a fumble in the end zone with 1:24 remaining as SCHS was attempting to punt.
Putnam County, which competes in Class AA and scored 69 points in its previous outing, took the game’s opening possession and quickly went three-and-out. SCHS began its first series of the contest inside War Eagle territory at the 47-yard line following a short punt.
The Redskins put together what appeared to be a possible scoring drive moving inside Putnam County’s 20-yard line before DJ Bland intercepted a Cross pass and raced 89 yards for a touchdown with 6:27 left in the quarter.
The lead did not last long, however, as Dashon Hyman returned the kickoff 86 yards for a score. Xavier Wallace added the point-after to even the score at 7-7.
The Redskins defense then stepped up on the second possession of the half by the War Eagles as Moore recovered a fumble. The SCHS offense was not able to move the football, however, and had to punt after three plays.
Cross went back to work on his team’s third series, connecting with Moore on a 73-yard play to give the Redskins their first lead.
After Putnam County was called for offsides on the extra point, SCHS went for 2 and was successful when Cross hit Hyman in the back of the end zone for a 15-7 advantage.
Social Circle’s defense continued its strong play in the first half, forcing the War Eagles to turn the football over on downs twice inside Redskin territory.
Putnam did cut manage to cut the first half deficit to a point with 1:33 remaining in the opening half on a 34-yard pass from Kilgore to Malik Thornton.
Grayson Jenkins, Tucker Cleary, Trey Douglas, JD Duval and Rowen Vandergriff each made several defensive plays for SCHS.
The Redskins begin region play next week, hosting Oglethorpe County in Region 8-A Public action.
