One of the best kickers to ever suit up in the maroon and gold has been inducted to the Pearl River Community College Athletics Hall of Fame.
"This honor is very humbling," Boyette said. "I'm honored."
Originally from Philadelphia, Miss., Boyette's family moved to Amite and later Loranger, Louisiana, when he was little. It was during his youth that Boyette grew to love sports. His father was a head baseball and basketball coach who also was an assistant football coach, while his mother played professional basketball.
"I was a gym rat," Boyette said recently. "I played all sorts of sports. We didn't have baseball until I was a junior or senior, so I didn't play that but I did track. Basketball was probably my favorite because my mom was a professional back when they had six players on the court. 
"I remember watching her play as a little kid."
Boyette eventually gravitated toward football, in part because of the Punt, Pass and Kick competitions. 
"I just always loved it," he said. "Back then they had the punt, pass and kick competitions and I always participated in that. I won the kicking part of it a few times and remember winning a jacket and some other cool things. 
"I just always loved kicking and everything about it." 

PLAYING AT PRCC
Despite being selected for the Louisiana all-star game and being named a blue chipper as a senior, Boyette was overlooked by college recruiters until PRCC coach J.C. Arban reached out. Pearl River was in need of a kicker and after a visit to Poplarville in the fall after his graduation, Boyette signed up to be a Wildcat ahead of the 1975 season.
As a freshman on Arban's 7-2 team, Boyette handled the kicking duties in addition to playing a little tight end and linebacker. It wasn't until his sophomore season in '76 that the Louisiana native — and Wildcats — really took off. 
Sometimes kickers can be overlooked or taken for granted. However, Boyette played a huge role in the team's 9-2 State Championship season, converting 33 of 35 PATs; both numbers are still represented in PRCC's record book.
After a 4-2 start to the '76 campaign, Boyette kicked PRCC past East Central 3-0. His kick came with 13:55 remaining in the first half and the Wildcats held on from there to secure the win.
"I was just really blessed to be able to be a part of the team," Boyette said of the narrow victory.
PRCC won their next three contests to secure a spot in the State Championship Game against the same Northwest team that had handed PRCC a season-opening loss.
The second time around, however, Pearl River came away victorious, topping the Rangers 17-7.
"It was a whirlwind of a season looking back," Boyette said. "We were very grateful to beat up on them after they had whipped our tails in the season opener. That was a sweet, sweet win. If we would have beaten them the first game we would have gone to the junior college Rose Bowl. We had a good year. We had a solid core of kids on offense and defense. There were a number of those games that were close but we also had a handful of blowouts. I think a lot of the time the other team just got out coached, honestly. 
"Coach Arban was a smart coach. Very smart. He was very analytical in his thinking and his assistants worked well with him. They did a phenomenal job."
Following the season, Boyette was named to the All-State squad and played in the all-star game. 

ON TO SOUTHERN MISS
Boyette said he ended up at Southern Miss because of the JUCO all-star game.
"They sent a coach to the JUCO all-star game," he said. "They needed a kicker and Coach (Bobby) Collins asked me if I wanted to come kick for them."
The choice was simple and during his two seasons in Hattiesburg, Boyette was about as reliable as they come. In 1977 and '78, Boyette converted 23 of 25 PATs each season while also successfully kicking 10 field goals.
Boyette, who recently retired from teaching, is married to Dorothy Boyette. The couple have four children, Haley, Sarah, Michael and Stephen, and four grandchildren.