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Published Saturday, June 21, 2008 in Sports

Indians have successful past in openers

By Tommy Camp

The Times-Herald

The East Coweta Indians, who open the 2008 football season at Sandy Creek on Aug. 29, have been remarkably successful in their opening games over the past 21 campaigns.

Since 1987 the Indians are 18-3 in season openers including last year's forfeit win at Oxford, Ala.

East Coweta reeled off 12 straight school and county record-setting opening game victories from 1987-98, a streak that was halted in its 31-14 loss to Parkview at Shoemake Stadium in the '99 opener.

That loss to Parkview and another to the Panthers in the Georgia Dome in 2002 and the one at Buford in 2005 have been the only opening season losses in opening games in the past 21 seasons for the usually fast-starting Indians.

The 12-game winning streak was accomplished with two wins each over Pike County, Hogansville, Mt. Zion of Jonesboro, Lovejoy and South Atlanta and one win each over Westwood and Parkview.

The Parkview win, opening the '98 season, was the memorable 23-13 win on the road over the defending state champions.

In those 12 straight wins, EC won seven at home and five on the road. Since beginning their program in the late '60s, the Indians are 26-15 all-time in season openers.

Westwood, with four appearances against EC on opening night, has been the most-often played opponent in the first game of the year.

The Indians were 3-1 against Westwood, a record that will forever remain intact since the school closed after the '87 season.

Parkview and Mt Zion of Carroll County are next in openers with three games each with the Indians going 1-2 against both.

East Coweta has played 10 other opponents twice in season openers and seven teams once each in the lid-lifters.

Last year's season opener at Oxford marked the first time that the Indians had ever opened the season out of the state of Georgia.

The Indians did, however, take lengthy opening night trips to Adairsville (1968), East Fannin (1973) and Buford (2005) to start things.

This year will mark the first season opener for the Indians since 1989 without long-time head coach Danny Cronic who retired last spring.

Cronic was 15-3 in career openers at EC, winning his first nine season starters as part of the Indians' 12-game record-setting streak that began three years before his arrival.

In 1980 the Indians lost their season opener to Palmetto, 21-6, but went on to finish 8-3 and make the playoffs for the first time in their history.

The next eight playoff years were started by wins on opening night however: 33-6 over Mt. Zion of Carroll County in 1983, 19-7 and 18-7 over Hogansville in 1990-91, 21-14 over Mt. Zion of Jonesboro in '93, 28-6 and 38-14 over Lovejoy in '94-95, 16-7 and 32-6 over South Atlanta in '96-97 and 23-13 over Parkview in '98.

The '98 win over Parkview kicked off the Indians' first-ever undefeated regular season. They won 10 in a row before losing the first game of the playoffs to

Houston County in a 33-32 heartbreaker in Shoemake Stadium.

In 2000 East Coweta beat Eagles Landing 54-26, setting a school record for most points on opening night, and went on to win a school-record 12 in a row before losing in the state quarterfinals to eventual state champion Parkview at home.

In 2001, the Indians beat Starr's Mill in their first-ever appearance in the Georgia Dome and went on to post 11 straight victories before losing in the second round of the playoffs to Westside Macon.

Opening night wins in 1999, 2000 and 2001 were part of the Indians' string of 28 regular season wins in a row over the three year period.