By By Rocky Higginbotham
JAN. 13, 2001
For the past 12 months, Wayne County High School has been focused on upgrading its athletic programs.
As a result, the War Eagles didn't have to look very far for a new head football coach after Bobby Hall left earlier this week.
Wayne County principal Al Smith announced Friday the hiring of Marcus Boyles to guide the War Eagles' football program, reassuring the team's players, boosters and fans of the school's commitment to winning on the Class 5A level.
The hire was made by the school board Thursday night.
Boyles' record indicates Smith is right.
To put it bluntly, Boyles has won at every level. He got his start at Florence before heading to Louisville, where he was also an assistant under Hall.
While Boyles was at Louisville, the Wildcats won a state championship and were nationally ranked. That helped get him the head job at Class 2A powerhouse Taylorsville, and Boyles didn't disappoint.
In his five seasons of guiding the Tartars, Taylorsville won a pair of state championships and played for the big gold ball one other time. He won his division title each of the five years, and his squads put together an incredible 42-game winning streak.
Boyles made a brief stop at Pearl, where he coached the likes of Mississippi State flanker Justin Jenkins, before heading to Wayne County.
Overall, Boyles has a remarkable record of 87-11 as a head coach, winning division titles seven times.
This past season, Boyles served as Hall's right-hand man in resurrecting the War Eagle program. Wayne County, after going 4-7 the previous season, was 10-3, finishing as the Region 3-5A runnerup before losing to eventual Class 5A state champion Moss Point 21-14.
The War Eagles certainly seem to be headed in the right direction. Wayne County's numbers are through the roof, as players are still excited about suiting up for the War Eagles.
Smith said Wayne County has made a commitment to concentrating on the "feeder schools" Clara, Buckatunna and Waynesboro Middle School to establish the high school program.
Hall, who owns championships at Louisville and Amory and is one of Mississippi's winningest high school coaches, left for the head coach's position at Northeast Mississippi Community College.
Rocky Higginbotham is the sports editor of The Meridian Star. E-mail him at rhigginbotham@themeridianstar.com.