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R E K I N D L I N G G LO RY
By Gerhard Mathangani
hen it comes to high school football, people
in Attalla are not easily impressed. Who could blame
them? The Blue Devil fans have seen some of the
greatest players to grace the high school gridiron in state
history. Carnell Williams, Auburn great and former
NFL veteran, Freddie Kitchens, Tide quarterback and
current NFL assistant, and the late M.L. Brackett,
Auburn DL / LB and NFL player, are merely the ice
chips off the tip of the football iceberg.
well with the young stars, but nothing could be further
from the truth. Both Ruiz and Williams understand
they have incredible value in the overall success of the
team and take pride in their roles. However, there is
a duality with the two running backs. While Ruiz
and Williams love sharing the spotlight, it’s not all
handshakes and back-pats in practice.
“The key to it is they are very good friends. They are
like brothers,“ Etowah head coach Drew Noles said.
“They’ve grown up playing together and they feed off
each other. They are not selfish and applaud the other’s
success.”
“The biggest thing they both give us is a chance
to score on any play.” Noles said. “They are explosive
and can make plays on both offense and special teams.
Defenses can’t key on one of them and they can both
be used as decoys and draw attention wherever they are
lined up on the field.”
In a society that encourages individualism, one
would assume that sharing the spotlight may not sit
“If we’re doing better running inside against a team,
Stacy may get more touches, and vice versa with Paul,”
Noles said.”The great thing about it is our offense fits
both of their styles and neither has to carry the ball 30
to 40 times a game.”
As if their remarkable selflessness and talent on the
field weren’t enough to make a coach excited, Ruiz and
Williams are also fantastic role models and are high
character people. “You always want your best players
to be your best kids too and that’s what we have with
them,” Noles said.
However, football fans in Attalla are excited about
a duo of running backs that are poised to make a big
impact in 2015. Enter Paul Ruiz and Stacy Williams.
The duo returns