ROSWELL — Etowah scored early and often against Centennial, racing out to a 24-0 lead and eventually winning 34-0 in a dominating performance at The Fortress.

Running back Brandon Engle led the Eagle offense with 102 yards on 15 carries, and an opportunistic defense forced two turnovers, posted five sacks, blocked a field goal and added a touchdown for good measure.

The win served as a bit of redemption for Etowah (1-1) following a sloppy Week 1 loss to Lambert, and it was also the first victory for new coach Dave Svehla.

“I was proud of our kids after last week when we didn’t play well enough in the first half and couldn’t make the big plays when we needed to,” Svehla said. “This week, we started well, our defense got a stop and our offense got an early score. I think our confidence really took off from there.”

After forcing a turnover on downs on Centennial’s opening possession, Etowah got its running game on track during its opening possession — driving 66 yards on nine rushing plays and taking a 7-0 lead when Stanlee Logue scored from 12 yards out.

With the Knights (0-2) threatening on the ensuing drive, Etowah defensive tackle Maveric Rechsteiner snuffed out a screen pass deep in Centennial territory. Leaping to make the catch, the senior rumbled and stumbled 75 yards through the Centennial defense to make the score 14-0.

“That was a heck of a play by a big ol’ lineman. That run was just phenomenal,” Svehla said. “The defense as a whole did great. That offense is hard to just stop, and we gave up some yards, but, each time they moved it down the field, we seemed to get a stop.”

Rechsteiner came up with another big play in the second quarter, sacking Centennial quarterback Chase Rosenberg on fourth down to swing the ball back to the Eagle offense.

Etowah quarterback Reeves Johnson then found Bryce Coroi on a perfectly placed 23-yard touchdown pass with 3:56 to play in the second quarter pushing the Etowah cushion to 21-0.

Ryan Hopper, who was a perfect 4-for-4 on extra points, split the uprights on the final play of the second quarter to give Etowah a 24-0 halftime lead.

Hopper added a 26-yard field goal in the third quarter, and Raishod Devezin scored a 12-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to bring the game to its 34-0 ending.

After traveling to Pope next Friday for its final non-region game, Etowah will begin Region 5AAAAAA play Sept. 21 by hosting Wheeler.