TIGERS DREW WILSON, ANTHONY SMITH, AND TYRECE ASHMORE MAKE THE TACKLE The defense held Putnam's Eagles to only 26 yards rushing in last Friday's region game. Last Friday night the Washington- Wilkes Tigers won another close region game, defeating Putnam County by a score of 18-12. This is the Tigers first victory in Eatonton since 1996. The win puts Washington at an even 4-4 overall record and 4-1 in region play. W-W is still tied with Greene County for second place in the 8AA south sub-region. The Tigers vs. Tigers match-up in two weeks will break the tie and determine Washington's region playoff game.

Putnam County started the game with the ball. The Tiger defense forced the Eagles to go three-andout, but Washington fumbled the punt, giving Putnam the ball back on the W-W 36-yard line. After giving up a nine-yard gain on first down, the Tiger defense stopped the Eagles for a loss on second down. On third down, Dan Wylie caused the Putnam County running back to fumble. Drew Wilson fell on the ball at the W-W 27-yard line. Two runs by Deon Jackson, with a run by Dede Stewart and two passes from Teverrius Jones to Stewart mixed in, moved Washington out to its 41-yard line. A pass interference call against the Eagles pushed the Tigers over the 50-yard line to the Putnam 44-yard line. Runs by Jackson and Stewart continued the drive down to the Eagles' 25-yard line. On second down, Jones found Stewart for the third time on the opening drive, this time for 25-yards and the touchdown. The two-point conversion was no good, giving the Tigers a 6-0 lead with 50 seconds left in the first quarter. Putnam received the kickoff and ran two plays for a six-yard net loss before the end of the quarter.

The Eagles punted two plays into the second quarter. The Tigers went three-and-out and punted down to the Putnam County 38-yard line. On first down, Wilson forced a fumble which Lee Thomson recovered on the Eagles' 40-yard line. Five carries by Jackson, the last one for 22 yards, put the Tigers in the end zone again. The go-for-two failed again, but Washington's lead increased to 12-0 with 7:26 left in the first half. Putnam's ensuing drive started out the same as all of its others. After two plays the Eagles had lost a yard back to their 27-yard line. But on third down, Putnam completed a 73-yard touchdown pass, cutting the Tigers' lead to 12-6 with 6:14 left in the second quarter. Washington again started driving down the field with carries by Jackson and Wilson. The Tigers made it down to the Putnam County 28-yard line before fumbling to the Eagles. Passing again moved Putnam down the field. A 20-yard completion on third down moved the Eagles over to the W-W 44-yard line and kept their drive alive. Two plays later, a Putnam County receiver made a one-handed catch at the 20-yard line and outran the Tiger defense for the touchdown. The extra point was no good, leaving the score tied at 12-12 with 1:39 left in the half. Washington went three-and-out and punted to the Eagles, who ran three plays before the first half ended.

The second half was a defensive battle. The Tigers first drive started well with carries by Jackson and Wilson. However, a holding call on fourth and short backed Washington up and forced them to punt. A fumbled snap forced Jones to run, but he was stopped just short of the first down marker, turning the ball over to Putnam County on its 47-yard line. The Eagles were able to pick up one first down before punting, pinning the Tigers back on the W-W seven-yard line. Runs by Jackson and Stewart and a pass from Jones to John Wylie moved the Tigers out to the Putnam County 47-yard line. The third quarter ended with Washington being stopped short of a first down and preparing to punt.

The fourth quarter started with Washington punting down to the Putnam 30-yard line. The Eagles went three-and-out, giving the ball back to the Tigers on their 45-yard line. Washington's drive was kept alive with a face mask by Putnam on fourth down. Two runs by Stewart put the Tigers on the 27-yard line. Jones found Desmond Jackson for a 23-yard gain, but a fumble at the end of the play kept Washington out of the end zone. The Eagles recovered the ball on their four-yard line and again went three-and-out. The Tigers started their next drive on their 41-yard line. Deon Jackson took the handoff on first down and went all 59 yards for the touchdown, giving Washington an 18-12 lead with 4:15 left in the game. Putnam managed to drive over to the W-W 46-yard line before Jackson intercepted an Eagle pass, ending the threat. After gaining a first down, the Tigers took a knee, finishing their fourth region win of the season.

Washington's offense gained a total of 353 yards, 285 yards on the ground and 68 yards through the air. Deon Jackson was the Tigers' leading rusher with 28 carries for 169 yards. Next was Stewart with eight carries for 65 yards. Stewart also had three catches for 34 yards, making him Washington's leading receiver. Next was Desmond Jackson with one catch for 23 yards. The Tiger defense was led by Wilson with fivetackles, fiveassists, a caused fumble, and a fumble recovery. Dan Wylie had a strong game on the defensive line with two sacks and a caused fumble.

The Tigers have an off week this week. Next Friday, November 2, Washington-Wilkes hosts the Tigers of Greene County. The winner will earn a home field advantage for the region playoff game of week 10.

Tonight at Tiger Stadium, the W-WCHS Student Council is sponsoring a powder puff football game. The game has the girls of the junior and senior classes, coached by John Lovvorn and Spencer Swinson, facing off against the girls of the freshmen and sophomore classes, coached by Tyrece Ashmore and Dan Wylie. Guys from all four classes will be participating as cheerleaders. All students and community members are encouraged to come out and support the girls and the W-WCHS Student Council. Admission to the game is three dollars, and concessions will be provided by the W-W chapters of FBLA and FCCLA. Kickoff is at 7:00 at Tiger Stadium.

Tigers vs. Putnam Co. (statistics compiled by Scott Chafin)

W-W PC
First Downs 17 5
First Downs Rushing 13 0
Yards Rushing 285 26
Yards Passing 68 160
Passes 5-11-0 7-18-1
Total Yards 353 186
No. Penalties 6 4
Yds. Penalized 50 25
Fumbles/lost 4/3 2/2
Punts/avg. 3/25.0 5/37.0
Return yards 19 53
Score by quarters
Tigers 6 6 0 6 - 18
Putnam 0 12 0 0 - 12