OLA- After a rocky start that saw the Two Rivers Gators take an early 6-0 first quarter lead, the Paris Eagles settled in and scored multiple times in the second quarter to take a 14 point lead into the locker room, leading 26-12. The Eagles would add another 19 points on the scoreboard in the second half that included a second half opening kickoff that was returned for a touchdown to break the game open. Paris never looked back, defeating the Gators 45-12 for their first 3A-4 conference win of the season.
With the win, Paris improves their overall record to 3-4 and 1-3 in conference play. The win keeps Paris’s playoff hopes alive and sets up an extremely important conference match-up next week at home against the Centerpoint Knights.
Tonight’s win at Two Rivers moves the Eagles into a three-way tie for the fifth playoff spot in the conference. Paris, along with Jessieville, and Danville have 1-3 conference records. Jessieville has the tiebreaker advantage over Paris by virtue of their head-to-head win over the Eagles last week. Centerpoint defeated Jessieville tonight by the score of 16-12 to improve their conference record to 4-0. Magnet Cove, who was upset by Centerpoint last Friday, lost at home tonight to Bismarck by the score of 50-15.
So, with the results of tonight’s games, the 3A-4 standings are:
Glen Rose 4-0
Centerpoint 4-0
Bismarck 3-1
Magnet Cove 2-2
Jessieville 1-3
PARIS 1-3
Danville 1-3
Two Rivers 0-4
Remaining games for each of the conference teams contending for playoff berths are:
PARIS
10/ 20 vs Centerpoint
10/ 27 at Magnet Cove
11/ 3 vs Danville
JESSIEVILLE
10/20 at Magnet Cove
10 /27 at Danville
11/02 vs Two Rivers
CENTERPOINT
10/20 at PARIS
10/27 vs. Glen Rose
11/03 at Bismarck
For the Eagles to make the playoffs, the best-case scenario is to defeat Centerpoint and Magnet Cove to have head-to-head wins over both teams while Centerpoint is playing the top teams in the conference, Glen Rose and Bismarck. Paris needs to win out the remainder of their schedule to lock up a state playoff berth while hoping for a Magnet Cove win over Jessieville next week.
So, for Paris, it is first things first…next Friday’s Senior Night game against Centerpoint is the most important game of the season so far for the Eagles. The Eagles must focus on what they can control, and that is getting a win over the Knights next Friday.
Photos from tonight’s game will be posted on Facebook at Paris Eagles Sports on Monday.
Have a great weekend!
