Before Bill Stewart was named head coach of the Etowah football program prior to the 2006 season, it had been more than a decade since the school had enjoyed watching a playoff football team. To be exact, 1994 was the last year the Eagles had played in the postseason.
To be sure, Stewart’s impact was immediately felt. The first-time head coach led the team on an amazing turnaround in 2006, winning eight games (a five-win improvement over the year before), and shocking traditional powerhouse Parkview 26-21 in the first round of the playoffs before falling to North Gwinnett in Round 2. The Parkview win held a special significance for Stewart, who was an assistant under legendary Panthers coach Cecil Flowe. It seems a win over his old mentor was just what the program needed to really pick up some steam.
So when Stewart and his Eagles got the opportunity to play in the Corky Kell Classic at the Georgia Dome—the biggest early-season stage that a team can hope for—for the first time on Aug. 23, you got the feeling that Etowah was going to seize the moment. So how did Stewart summarize his team’s performance after the game?
“It was our first game and we did alright,” Stewart said simply.
I’ll say. The Eagles cruised to an easy 47-24 victory over Starr’s Mill in the opener and, in the process, opened eyes all across the state.
BREAKOUT BOYKIN
As impressive as Etowah’s performance was as a team, one player stood above the rest in the rout of Starr’s Mill.
Senior tailback Ryan Boykin, who scored all of one touchdown a year ago while playing the role of backup, scorched the Panthers defense for 277 rushing yards and four touchdowns. All of his scores came in the first half.
Said Stewart of his surprise star: “He had a breakout game. That’s what we knew he was capable of doing.”
Maybe Stewart could have clued in a couple of sportswriters (this one included) to the fact that Boykin’s big game was expected by the Etowah coaches, because his was a name you didn’t hear much before the Classic. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound back strode easily through the defense of a stunned Starr’s Mill, and displayed breakaway speed once he got to the second level. It was the type of performance that can put a little-known recruit on the radar screen of the big boys.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Eagles had a bye week last week, but will have a number of difficult tests going forward. On Friday, the team will host McEachern, a team in transition but still a dangerous squad. The Indians lost to Grayson in the final Dome matchup, but still put up 21 points against a stout Rams defense in their first game with a new system. The team lucked into home games against four ’07 playoff teams, as it will host Cherokee, Marietta, North Cobb and Harrison over the course of the year.
Stewart has already taken the program to new heights (the Eagles had never reached the postseason two years in a row), and it looks as if he should be able to raise Etowah’s standing in the Georgia football community even further this year.
Ewalt can be reached at aewalt@scoreatl.com.
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