Someone once said that an Eagle earns its honor from the storms it endures. And the great Carl Sandberg also said, “There is an eagle in me that wants to soar.” Great thoughts that sum up not only the Eagles great effort Friday at Newport, but a senior class of football players that rebuilt a program for two tough years before seeing the fruits of their labor with 20 wins in their final two seasons.
No doubt, in each of the players on the field at Newport, there were Eagles who wanted to soar. And soar they did, playing a very deep and talented Newport Greyhounds team almost three hours away from Eagles Stadium. Newport is good enough to make a serious run to the state finals, and until approximately five minutes to go in the contest, it appeared that Paris had a chance to make a comeback win. It didn’t work out for Paris, but every person in the community can be very proud of the all-out effort every player gave in the narrow loss to Newport. And the Paris coaching staff emptied the playbook looking for any advantage or surprise they could throw at Newport. The Eagles went to Newport to win, and everyone, players and coaches, did a great job in giving the Eagles a chance to win.
Newport dominated Riverview earlier in the season in a lopsided shutout. Paris narrowly defeated Riverview 17-14 in the first round of the state playoffs. So everyone knew that the Eagles would have to play much better against the Greyhounds to have a chance to win. And that is exactly what they did. On the fast artificial turf surface in Newport, the Eagles matched the Greyhounds with team speed, and actually appeared to surprise Newport with their tenacious play. Earlier in the week, I wrote that the pressure would be on the Paris defense to contain the team speed and talent of the Newport offense. And for most of the game, the Eagles were able to do just that. But sometimes you just lose to a good team, and I feel very openly that this was the case last Friday night. It is not easy to lose, and it is sometimes easy to point fingers, but this team and coaching staff were well prepared and gave Paris the opportunity to win. All of that, combined with how “clean” the game was played, is a point of pride for every Paris fan.
This year’s senior class has played their last football game. They won 9 regular season games and two playoff games in 2020, and in 2021, they again won 9 regular season games with one playoff win. That’s 21 wins over the past two seasons. Eagles fans would be hard pressed to recall a two-year span as successful as this year’s senior class. Considering how this team started out four years ago by going 0-10, Paris fans can always affectionately remember this team for their contributions to the program and for giving our community so many good memories.
Photos of last Friday’s game at Newport are now available on Facebook at Paris Eagles Sports. It has been my pleasure and privilege to cover the Eagles over the past two seasons, and I wish all of the seniors the best of luck with their futures. They are a great group, and each week, they always came ready to play. We will never forget them.
Thank you Paris fans for reading Resident Press and for all of your kind comments on the photos we have provided throughout the season. I hope you enjoy them and hold onto them for a lifetime of memories of this very special group of players.
And now, it is on to basketball. I look forward to seeing all of you both and home and on the road as we follow the Eagles and Lady Eagles in 2021-22.
From all of our family at Resident Press, we wish you and your families a very Happy Thanksgiving!
