HOMER — Putnam County scored on the first play of the game and Banks County could never catch the War Eagles in a 24-13 Region 8-2A loss at Leopard Stadium.
The loss dropped the Leopards (3-5, 2-3 Region 8-2A) into fifth place in the standings with just two weeks left. They can still make the playoffs but would need to win out to force a three-way tie and send it to tiebreakers.
The War Eagles (4-4, 3-2) scored on a 60-yard touchdown pass to open the game and after stopping the Leopards' first drive, they extended the lead to 14-0 midway through the first quarter on an 18-yard touchdown run. Putnam made it 17-0 with a 24-yard field goal early in the second quarter.
Banks County then began to find some success. Roman Haynes scored on a 20-yard TD run to cut the lead to 17-6 midway through the second quarter. The Leopards had a chance to cut into the lead even further but had a pass intercepted in the end zone just before the end of the half.
The Leopards pulled within 17-13 in the third quarter and a 6-yard TD run from Chandler Payne but could not get closer. Putnam County put it out of reach with a 32-yard touchdown pass with 8:35 left in the game.
Banks County will play host to Monticello next week.
