Eagles hold off Sparkplugs after rededicating Mark Wildman Field

Speedway defenders try but can't stop South Putnam's Keenan Mowery-Shields from scoring during the second quarter Friday night. The Sparkplugs hung around most of the night but couldn't keep the Class A No. 1 Eagles from starting the year 1-0 with a 28-20 win.

Banner Graphic/JARED JERNAGAN

The South Putnam Eagles opened their season re-dedicating Mark Wildman Field with the new turf and lights installed over the summer.

Though the sparkling clean venue was impressive, the Class A No. 1-ranked Eagles were not as clean in their performance, but still dominated the line of scrimmage for a 28-20 victory over the Speedway Sparkplugs on Friday night.

The Eagle offensive line dominated the game with 295 yards on the ground and South overcame several dropped passes and 10 penalties to start its season 1-0.

“We’ve got some things to clean up, but this is a good win against a very good football team,” South Putnam head coach Chuck Sorrell said.

Ty Benton rushed for 141 yards and was supported by Wyatt Mullin and Brier Cook with 76 and 73 yards each. The rushing game was impressive as the Eagles ran consistently all night.

“We believe we should be running for 200 or 250 yards a game. We did a good job tonight in the running game. If we didn’t have a few holding penalties, it might have been better,” Sorrell said.

The Eagles dominated the first quarter, but a turnover in the red zone and some penalties kept the game scoreless as South could not get the ball into the end zone. South’s defense kept the Sparkplugs from threatening and the Eagles finally broke through in the second quarter.

South put together a 12-play, 80-yard drive capped by a Bransyn Ensor 25-yard pass from Wyatt Mullin and, after the Hayden Meredith PAT kick, South led 7-0. The Eagles did most of their damage on the ground, but Ensor drew a big interference penalty and then the score to take the lead.

South’s defense forced a three-and-out and then the ground game really cranked up behind Cook, who carried the ball four times for 33 yards, and Keenan Mowery-Shields capped the 63-yard drive off with a four-yard run as the Eagles seemed to be in control at 14-0.

The Sparkplugs bounced back as they went to the air after a good kick return and were able to go 55 yards to get a Jazz Coleman four-yard touchdown run with just 21 seconds left on the clock in the first half. That cut the Eagle lead in half to 14-7.

“We are playing a lot of freshmen and sophomores in the defensive backfield, and they will only get better. They did a good job tonight for the most part,” Sorrell said.

The Sparkplugs tied the game early in the third quarter as they had another good kick return and, with the aid of a 30-yard pass, set up Coleman for another touchdown run to tie the score at 14-14.

Speedway seemed to have all the momentum as its forced the Eagles into a quick punt on the next possession, but the home defense made a big play.

Ashton Nichols made a diving interception of a tipped Speedway pass to set South Putnam up at the Sparkplug 26-yard line. Just four plays later, Cook carried the ball in from six yards out to allow the Eagles to retake the lead at 21-14 with 7:13 left in the third quarter.

Speedway was driving again, but Zach Dorsett forced a fumble that Brody Burdge recovered. The Eagles couldn’t capitalize and the Sparkplugs ended up driving and getting a touchdown early in the fourth quarter on a Coleman run.

The Eagles caught a break as Speedway missed the PAT kick and still trailed the hosts 21-20.

South was struggling to find a rhythm as Speedway struggled with the heat and cramping up with several players going down stopping play in the third and fourth quarter.

The Eagles drove 63 yards to extend the lead to 28-20 as Benton was able to get in the end zone from five yards out.

“It was tough at times with all the stoppages and down time,” Sorrell said.

The Eagle defense forced a fumble on the next possession and that pretty much put the game away for South Putnam.

South’s offense churned up 361 yards of total offense on the night and was able to pick up the victory.

In addition to the rushing game, Mullin passed for 66 yards despite a plethora of dropped passes. The defense made very few mistakes despite an unusual night for South’s preparation with all of the festivities surrounding the re-dedication of the field.

“We had a lot of distractions tonight, the players, the coaches, everyone. We told the players to stay focused and be ready to go. It was tough, but I want to thank all the administration, staff, community and everyone for this field and their support,” Sorrell said standing in the middle of the new turf.

2nd Qtr

SP – Bransyn Hanley 25 pass from Wyatt Mullin (Hayden Meredith kick), 7-0, 6:11.

SP – Keenan Mowery-Shields 4 run (Hayden Meredith kick), 14-0, 2:23.

SHS – Ja’Ronn Smith 5 pass from Connor Moreland (Joey Heaviland kick), 14-7, :21.

3rd Qtr

SHS – Jazz Coleman 4 run (Joey Heaviland kick), 14-14, 10:35.

SP – Brier Cook 6 run (Hayden Meredith kick), 21-14, 7:13.

4th Qtr

SHS – Jazz Coleman 1 run (kick failed), 21-20, 11:05.

SP – Ty Benton 5 run (Hayden Meredith kick), 28-20, 8:11.

Statistics

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Speedway: Jazz Coleman 20-88, Connor Moreland 6-32, Mamadou Diallo 5-2, Ja’Ronn Smith 2-25, South Putnam: Ty Benton 21-141, Wyatt Mullin 10-76, Brier Cook 8-73, Keenan Mowery-Shields 2-5.

Passing: Speedway: Connor Moreland 11-22-2 139. South Putnam: Wyatt Mullin 7-19-0 66.

Receiving: Speedway: Jazz Coleman 5-45, Vincin Jean 2-36, Ja’Ronn Smith 2-30, Mazeed Ishola 1-15, Lucas DeVault 1-13. South Putnam: Brody Burdge 1-11, Ty Benton 1-(-4), Hayden Tincher 1-16, Bransyn Hanley 2-34, Keenan Mowery-Shields 1-4, Zach Dorsett 1-5.