Columbia Eagles Football - Ready To Soar For More "Second Round Not Enough"
The Columbia Eagles are heading into year number three under the direction of head coach, Greg Barnett, and in just a short period, Barnett has quickly turned things around within the Columbia culture. In his second season as head coach last season, Barnett’s Eagles finished 8-4 overall and 6-2 in their region, advancing to the second round of the Georgia High School Association Class 2A state playoffs. Now as the Eagles prepare to close out their spring season with a spring game against Stockbridge on Thursday, Barnett says he’ll be looking forward to getting back with his guys after the break.
“A lot of exciting things happening here at 2106, especially with the new weight room coming in. The guys have been inside the weight room, getting work in so we’re just looking forward to getting through the spring game tomorrow, getting some evaluations going and getting into the summer,” Barnett said of Columbia wrapping up their spring workouts and then getting back to work after their break. “It’s definitely going to be an exciting time for us,” Barnett added about seeing his team in action on Thursday in the spring game with Stockbridge.
When asked if there was any particular thing that he was looking forward to seeing the most on Thursday, Barnett said he eager to watch his offensive line go to work. “I have a new o-line, so of course that’s always important, the foundation of your team,” Barnett said of waiting to see how well his guys do in the trenches. However, ultimately, with key players returning on both sides of the ball, including running back Royce Tolbert, Barnett says he and his staff are excited to see the entire team get to work. “We’ll have some experience in certain areas so just looking forward to seeing those guys getting down through it tomorrow,” said Barnett.
While on the field, things have been generating quite the buzz for Columbia, Barnett says support and buy in from the community have played a major role helping him and his staff change the culture of the Eagles program. One of those supporters, Barnett’s classmate while he attended Columbia, is Atlanta rapper Future who donated a new weight room for the Eagles. “It has impacted my players and our program tremendously, it’s definitely a sense of pride in the weight room. Last season, they started to understand the importance of the weight room and by us getting brand new equipment, I can’t keep the guys out of there,” Barnett said.
The Eagles will open up the regular season on August 19 when they face Camden County, who they faced in their season opener last year.
