NEW MARKET – It was an historical night as Southmont’s football team defeated North Putnam 42-21.
Mounties coach Desson Hannum notched his 70th career win at South, tying him with Ken Coudret.
Coach Coudret, the first Mounties football coach ever, won his first game at South against North Putnam back in 1971.
“It’s an honor to be mentioned in the same sentence as Coach Coudret,” Hannum said. He was one of the greatest Southmont coaches ever. When I first was hired, he opened his house to our entire coaching staff. He was the first to greet me, and then he was a huge help in getting our youth programs started. He was an amazing man, and to be alongside him is a great honor.”
Hannum’s Mounties had to make multiple adjustments in picking up the win that moves South to 2-0.
After throwing the ball five times last week against Fountain Central, quarterback Nick Scott came out like a Sunday QB, throwing the ball three times on the first possession, including a touchdown.
The senior would go on to throw 16 passes, completing 10. For 259 yards, and added one more score.
He had no interceptions, although one pass was tipped and nearly turned over. Averaging a tick under 26 yards a completion, he moved the South offense all game. They finished with four third down conversions and two more on fourth, two going for Tds.
“We had to take what North Put gave us,” Hannum said of the offensive strategy. “We had to do what had to be done. We knew Coach (Cougars head coach Scott) Moore and Coach (assistant coach and Scott’s father Brian) Moore would bring a bunch of wrinkles on both sides of the ball. When we saw eight guys in the (run) box, we knew we had to throw. We had guys run good routes and get open, and we protected Scott, and then Nick threw the ball well.”
The chunk plays kept the offense moving down the field, but the Cougars, who fall to 0-2, hung with the Mounties until their only turnover of the game turned the scoreboard against them.
North Putnam answered the first Southmont TD with one of their own in the first quarter, as Noah Claycomb capped a 17-play drive with a 2-yard scoring run.
Wyatt Woodall, who found paydirt four times, finished a second-quarter drive with a 6-yard run.
On the Cougars next possession, freshman quarterback Christian Kramer was sacked and lost the ball, with Southmont’s Waylon Gomez falling on the loose ball.
A 32-yard pass to Chadd was the first play for South, and then Woodall needed two carries to get the ball in, the last on a 9-yard run.
It was 21-7 South, and they had some cushion.
Although NP kept it interesting with a 77 yard pass and run from Kramer to Claycomb.
The Mounties started the second half with back-to-back touchdowns, and the teams traded fourth quarter scores, including Woodall’s third rushing score (from 5 yards out) and then a receiving one (from 36 yards away).
“Southmont is just such a good, solid, physical football team,” Cougars coach Scott Moore said. “We slowed their run game down, but we missed too many passing assignments. We ran the ball decently, and Kramer threw the ball so much better than last week, but we made a lot of mental mistakes. I’m not happy with losing the game, but we played a lot better, and we went toe-to-toe with a very good Southmont team.”
The Cougars finished with 281 yards of total offense. Kramer was 14-of-21 passing for 232 yards. He had one TD and no interceptions, after throwing for 230 yards, and four picks last week in the opener against North Montgomery. He was limited to three completions in the second half by the South defense, and was sacked five times.
Claycomb had all three scores for the visitors, two by land and one by air. He had the 2-yard run early, caught the 77-yard air bomb from Kramer, and got in from 5-yards late in the game.
Scott was 11-of-16 through the air for the Mounties, finishing with the 259 yards and pair of scores. He had five completions better than 30 yards. He also had a rushing TD, from 7-yards out.
Woodall was the workhorse on the ground, picking up 90 yards in 18 carries and the three scores. The junior added 75 yards of receiving offense on three catches.
Chadd had three catches for 79 yards and and a score, going with 39 yards on eight carries.
The Mounties finished with 385 yards of offense and had not a turnover, although they did recover a couple of their own loose balls.
“We knew North Put might come out with a no-huddle offense,” Hannum said. “Like I said, I’ve coached against both Coach Moore’s, and you learn to expect the unexpected. I was really happy that everyone on both sides of the ball contributed well tonight. We have to cut down on our penalties and we will need to run the ball better down the road, but tonight we made the adjustments, and that was good to see. It was a good win.”
Both teams head into conference play next week.
The Cougars travel to South Putnam and the Mounties will play host to the Chargers
