By Kevin McCaskill Jr.
9/27/21 * 6:00 AM
(AGAWAM) - Last Friday night, Putnam travelled southwest to play a tough road game against Agawam HS. Agawam is led by QB Griffen Levesque, DB/WR Vinny Wallace and RB Jermaine Norfleet.
Putnam hasn’t won a game in awhile. Sadly, for Putnam alumni and fans, that streak continued on Friday.
Agawam scored 42 unanswered points in the first half. Norfleet scored 3 TDs; Levesque passed for 2 TDs; Freshman RB Jaedyn Perez scored 1 run TD. All the EPs (extra points) were kicked successfully by Josiah Bass-Collins.
Putnam made some good plays in the first half. They couldn’t build a scoring drive, due largely to the Agawam defense. The Agawam defense doesn’t give QBs a lot of time in the pocket and they relentlessly pursue the ball outside of the pocket.
In the second half, Agawam put in their second string players. Putnam was able to score two TDs - one off a fumble recovery and the other was a pass TD. They tried two 2-point conversions and both were unsuccessful.
Agawam dominated this game from start to finish. They throttled Putnam 42-12.
Scoring
Agawam:
Jermaine Norfleet - 3 run TDs
Griffen Levesque - 2 pass TDs
Jovaun Smith - 1 rec TD
Aidan Levesque - 1 rec TD
Jaedyn Perez - 1 run TD
Putnam:
1 TD from fumble recovery
1 pass TD
After the game, I spoke with Agawam HC John Benjamin.
How was your week of practice before this game?
“We had a good week of practice. They came focused and practiced hard everyday, like they usually do. We had a good week of practice”.
How does your offensive line make those lanes for the running game?
“We work on fundamentals every week. We just don’t go out there and run plays. We spend a lot of time on footwork and hand placement…coming off the ball low. Then we spend some time on assignment and plays. They do it at a really high level. Its just fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals”.
Can you tell us about Jonathan Gingeruha?
“We are grooming him to be our QB at some point. He is a really good athlete; he is a Freshman. He throws the ball really nice…We are looking for a lot from him in the future”.
