ETOWAH EAGLES
RUSHING Att. Yds. Avg. TD
Elijah Washington 168 615 3.7 3
Braden Bohannon 96 197 2.1 3
PASSING Com/Att Yds. TD INT
Braden Bohannon 40/96 402 1 8
Jack Strickland 1/1 74 1 0
RECEIVING Rec. Yds. Avg. TD
Will Curcio 21 239 11.4 1
D.J. Bailey 5 94 18.8 1
TACKLES Tac. Ast. Total
Collin Sherrer 30 34 64
Jaiden Maddox 35 23 58
SACKS No.
Jaiden Maddox 7
Ryan Lee 3
INTERCEPTIONS No.
Luciano Corpora-Ellis 2
Alex Kirby 2
38th Annual Riverfest
Arts and Crafts Festival
KICKOFF ‘22 101
C all U s...
W e’re
P otty -T rained
770-422-P LUM
R I V E R F E S T
A r t s & C r a f t s F e s t i v a l
at Etowah River Park
Saturday, Sept. 24
10am - 6pm
Sunday, Sept. 25
10am - 5pm
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VARSITY
COACHING STAFF
Matt Kemper ....... HC/QB/RB
Steve Sapere ......AHC/DC/LB
Andrew Sugg ............STR/DL
Chris Bryce ...................... DL
Brian Pierson ...................DB
Nick Luly .........................DB
Casey Wingard ................OL
Ben Martin ................. OL/TE
Ron Gardner ...................WR
2021 LEADERS
2021 RESULTS
Creekview ................................... 7-42 ........L
River Ridge ..................................7-22 ........L
North Forsyth .............................. 0-14 ........L
North Cobb ..................................0-42 ........L
Roswell ....................................... 6-15 ........L
Milton ........................................ 14-54 ........L
Cherokee....................................13-14 ........L
Woodstock ................................. 17-14 .......W
Forsyth Central ............................ 7-10 ........L
Alpharetta ...................................0-34 ........L
FIVE YEAR
RECORD
16-37
2021: 1-9
2020: 1-9
2019: 5-6
2018: 4-7
2017: 5-6
ALL TIME RECORD: 2002631
REGION CHAMPIONSHIPS (3)
2010, 2008, 2006
Historical Info from Georgia High School Football Historians Assocation
Coach: Matt Kemper
3 Seasons at School • Record: 2-18 • Career: 73-75
Stadium: Eagle Stadium
Etowah poised to return
to its winning ways
By Griffin Callaghan
gcallaghan@cherokeetribune.com
Matt K emper has a history of
turning programs around. Now, in
his third year at Etowah, he hopes
to see his team progress and turn
last year’s close losses into victories.
When K emper took over at Pope,
Johns Creek and Roswell, he inherited
situations where the team was
in disarray. All three previous programs
returned to winning ways under
him and now it’s the Eagles turn.
“I want us to take the next step
in finishing off games,” K emper
said. “The big problem when you
have not had success is you play
not to lose rather than playing to
win. As a staff, we want these kids
to go out, compete and play loose.”
Etowah’s lone win last season
came in a 17-14 game against Woodstock.
It had a chance in multiple
other games, though, including a
10-7 loss to Forsyth Central and a
14-13 loss to Cherokee, which went
down to the final few plays.
The Eagles have both Forsyth Central
and Cherokee within the first three weeks
of its schedule this season. K emper
has his group focusing on resilience
ahead of those early season tests.
“We want our kids to have the attitude
that if we mess up or something
goes wrong, make up for it on
the next play,” K emper said.
Etowah turned over its quarterback
and running back positions with Braden
Bohannon graduating and Elijah
Washington transferring. Running
back is a key position for the Eagles,
who lean heavily on the ground game.
As a team, Etowah rushed for
1,016 yards in 2021, compared to
529 yards through the air.
Junior Jack Strickland and sophomore
X avier Mahoney will man
the quarterback spot. K emper expects
both guys to see the field early
in the season, with each bringing
completely different skill sets.
Strickland is more of a passing
threat, which is something Etowah
has lacked over the last two years.
K emper said Mahoney is likely the
fastest player in the program, and
his dual-threat potential is welcomed
with the Eagles’ top three
rushers from last year gone.
Despite so much player turnover
between the end of 2021 and now,
the coaching staff is still excited
about the roster leading up to the fall.
“The landscape of high school
football has changed, j ust like college
football with all the movement,”
K emper said. “O ur guys did a great
j ob, though, in the weight room and
out into the community. They try
to do the right thing, and I certainly
hope we are on the right track.”
Led by the 6 -foot-4 j unior Tate
Nelms, Etowah’s offensive line will
be its engine. K emper said the goal is
to dominate possession and develop
the group of young, talented receivers
behind Will Curcio, who had 239
yards and one touchdown last year.
“The last two years, we had to
rely heavily on our defense,” K emper
said. “This season, I think we
are a bit different because we did
lose so much on defense. We hope
to be a possession-style football
team and get the ball in the end
zone while our defense matures.”
Etowah dropped to Class AAAAAA
and will compete with four other
Cherokee County teams, including
archrival Woodstock. K emper
said moving into the lower classification
helps, but it does not cure
everything.
“K ids are coming back, and they
want to be part of this program,”
K emper said. “We need to have
strength in numbers. If nothing
else, this is such a fun group to be
around, and they work really hard.”
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