Indians bounce back
Coming back from a season- opening loss to Hayfork, Greenville High School football team beat host McCloud Loggers on Sept. 5, by a score of 52-20.
Greenville head football coach Dave Keller called it “an excellent all-around performance against a quality opponent.” The McCloud team pulled out all the stops in a victory over the Greenville boys last season (55-8) on the way to their 7-1 record. “(McCloud) was selected during the preseason in 2019 by several regional publications to compete for the Northern Section championship,” said Keller.
The Greenville Indians stepped out forcefully leading at the end of the first quarter 14 to 0. The GHS boys increased their lead as the Loggers appeared on the scoreboard by halftime, 34-14.
In the third quarter the Indians again outscored their opponents for the final score of 52-20 with no points scored by either team in the final quarter.
“We knew we would have our hands full, but we received strong defense from Trevor Barr, Wade Neer and Garrett Miille,” said Keller. “Also, Westin Lawson and Presley Sordi tied up their outside receivers most of the game. The team stepped up when it was needed the most. This includes special teams, with Kyle Hitson kicking a pair of touchbacks.”
Miille led in solo tackles with six and seven assists. Wade Neer and Putnam both had five solo tackles. Barr had a total of 10 between solo and assisted tackles. Westin Lawson had seven.
The Loggers’ offensive play designs are solid and created to exploit gaps in the defense, which happened a few times, according to Keller, “… and it took consistency and discipline to limit McCloud to three touchdowns while intercepting three of their passes,” said Keller.
On the offensive side of the ball, GHS quarterback Andrew Putnam completed 11 of 16 passes for 204 yards and four touchdowns. Putnam didn’t play favorites; he connected with Barr for six passes (121 yards), Savala for three passes (39 yards) and Miille for two (44 yards). On the ground, GHS received a balanced attack from Miille (95 yards), Savala (85 yards) and Putnam (70 yards).
The offense’s consistency is a tribute to the offensive line,” said Keller. “River Joseph, Tony Joseph, Kyle Hitson, Harvey Merino and Jake Smalley contained McCloud’s defense most of the night.”
Wade Neer made two interceptions and Putnam intercepted once. Anthony Joseph was a thorn in the side of the two Logger quarterbacks, freshman Drew Dutton and senior David Wolfe, with three hurries. Wolfe returned the favor though with two quarterback sacks.
Putnam’s total rushing for the night was 71 yards with a grand total of 275 all-purpose yards for the night. Barr led in all-purpose yards with 195, Savala added 135 and Miille accumulated 125.
The win improved Greenville’s record to 1-1 as the team prepared to travel Aug. 13 to face Butte Valley High School in Dorris. The Butte Bulldogs were also 1-1 as they headed into the match with the Indians.
