Etwi carries Oak Ridge into district-title contention

THE WOODLANDS, Texas- A year from now, Kwame Etwi could be the feature back at the Naval Academy, or perhaps Southern Methodist University, but last Friday night, with the game tied at 13-13, Etwi took center stage – and single-handedly carried his Oak Ridge War Eagles to a 20-13 victory over the arch-rival College Park Cavaliers.

On the game-winning drive, Etwi carried the ball on nine out of ten snaps. He capped off the march with a short touchdown run as the War Eagles improved to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in District 16-6A play.

Oak Ridge will take on The Woodlands in a battle for first place, in the district race Friday, October 24 at 7:30 p.m., at Woodforest Bank Stadium. The Woodlands, which is ranked No. 3 in the Houston area, is 6-1 overall and 3-0 in conference play.

“Whenever Coach (Dereck Rush) asks me to run the ball, I am ready,’’ said the 5-foot-8, 175-pound Etwi, who hopes to play college football for either SMU or Navy. “I wanted the ball at the end of the game,’’ Etwi added. “I didn’t want to let the team down.’’

Etwi has rushed for at least 100 yards in all eight games this season. He finished with 113 yards on the ground in the win over College Park.

“This was a rivalry game,’’ Etwi said. “Anything can happen in rivalry games. I think that makes everybody play harder and run a little bit harder.’’

Etwi said the War Eagles’ goal at the start of the season was to compete for a district title. They have that chance on Friday.

“This team deserves to compete for a district title,’’ he said. “It has been our goal all season. We just need a great week of practice and come out and give it everything we’ve got.’’

Etwi said the defense, which has struggled at times during the season, has been improving every week.

Oak Ridge held powerful Atascocita scoreless for the first 23:50 of their District 16-6A game. It also held College Park and Conroe to a pair of scores in its last two games.

“We have been getting better and better on defense,’’ he said. “They have been more accountable. We always tell them that we have your back if you have ours. It is a team effort.’’

Etwi knows it will take another team effort to beat The Woodlands.

“They have a great team,’’ he said. “But this is another rivalry game. We know that anything can happen.’’