PARIS- Paris will host the Bismarck Lions this Friday in a 3A-4 conference game at Eagles Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
It’s homecoming week for Paris, and the pregame homecoming coronation ceremony will take place on the field at approximately 6:30 p.m. And for the Eagles, Bismarck is an unusually tough opponent for homecoming.
Last season, the Eagles traveled to south Arkansas to play the Lions for the first time as members of the new 3A-4. Bismarck, runners-up to Glen Rose in the conference a year ago, handed Paris an ugly 55-0 loss. The game became “chippy” between both teams, and fans are wondering if any of the bad blood from last year’s game will carry forward to this week’s homecoming showdown.
Paris’s struggles a year ago are well-documented. Additionally, by the time the Eagles met Bismarck at this point of the season in 2022, injuries were starting to mount, and the Eagles had not yet won a football game. So, tempers were short, and frustrations were high.
Turning ahead to this week’s return game in Paris, the Eagles are a young and talented team. Some of those players experienced the nightmare at Bismarck a year ago, and do not want to experience it again on Friday.
At deadline time for this story, Paris was getting ready to travel to Glen Rose to play last year’s conference champion. It is a very tough two week stretch for Paris who will play the top two teams in the conference back-to-back on their schedule. And when those two weeks have been played, the Eagles will again take to the road for another very difficult game at Jessieville.
The Lions football program has been on an upward trend over the past two seasons and look to continue that trend this season. Bismarck won 13 games and two playoff games from 2021-22. They are again picked to finish second in the conference to Glen Rose.
Lions wide receiver Dalton Daniels finished second in the conference a year ago with 602 receiving yards on 42 receptions. He also caught 11 touchdown passes in 2022.
Defensively, the Lions are extremely tough. Conference leaders in tackles, Gavin Urban and Johnny Diaz are a force for the Lions. Urban led the conference in 2022 with 80 tackles, and Diaz was second with 57.5 tackles.
But the Lions, in the words of Hooten’s Arkansas Football publication, have “an untested offensive line and linebackers” as a potential weakness going into this season. Last year’s backup quarterback, Ben Keithley, will start this year for Bismarck. To be successful on Friday, Paris’s defensive line and linebackers must win the battle with the inexperienced Bismarck offensive line.
As of the deadline for this story, Bismarck had started the season 2-1 with wins over Rison and Poyen and a loss at home vs. Prescott. Bismarck was about to host Jessieville on September 22 prior to this week’s game at Paris.
After their game with Paris on October 29, the Lions will return home to host a game with Glen Rose that could determine the conference championship. It will be necessary for Bismarck not to look past Paris this week with Glen Rose coming to Bismarck the following week.
Watch for our postgame story this weekend on our website at residentnewsnetwork.com. Action photos from this game will be available on Facebook at Paris Eagles Sports next week.
So, happy homecoming to the Paris community, and we look forward to seeing you at the stadium on Friday!
