The start of one of the most much-anticipated seasons in recent program history is less than a week away for the Paris Eagles football program. New head football coach Jeff Weaver will take his Eagles on the short trip down Highway 22 to Lavaca this Friday to face the Golden Arrows in the first weekend of the 2021 high school football season.
Paris enters the season ranked in the top ten in Arkansas Class 3A. A season ago, the Eagles finished 8th in Class 3A after a state quarterfinal appearance in last year’s state playoffs. Much of last year’s team is returning this year, and Eagles fans everywhere have been looking forward to this season for a long time.
The Eagles will play their first two games of the season away from Paris. Paris travels to Lavaca this Friday and will play at Johnson County Westside on September 3. The Eagles home opener will be the next week on September 10 when they host the West Fork Tigers.
Jeff Weaver’s offensive philosophy may appear to be similar to last year’s approach under former coach Tyler Clark. But the terminology and the intent of this offense is very different. In last week’s preseason scrimmage game at Magazine, the Eagles, although using their starters sparingly, showed their ability to strike quickly for big, explosive plays that amassed big chunks of yardage. The Eagles can score quickly from any point on the field with good skilled position players and team speed.
Weaver has also developed some much-needed depth at key positions, specifically in the offensive backfield. At quarterback, sophomore Maddox Watts, brother of senior starting quarterback Chase Watts, has had the opportunity to play a lot of snaps to develop his skills as the Eagles’ backup quarterback. Senior Jude Simmons is also available to play quarterback in an emergency situation and can be very effective.
The Eagles have outstanding talent, and that talent is highlighted by seniors Duke Walker, Chase Watts, Blake Martines, Mequell Elingberg, and others who will contribute on both sides of the ball. Walker, a returning All-State player at both running back and corner back, is a very talented athlete who verbally committed to the University of Missouri as a freshman to play college baseball for the Tigers. Walker is a three-sport letterman and was honored as an All-State athlete in both football and baseball in the 2020-21 school year. In the 2020 football season, Walker came up with countless numbers of big plays on both offense and defense. Most notably, against Booneville, Walker produced two turnovers for touchdowns on defense by scooping up fumbles and returning them for touchdowns. Waker’s big plays kept Paris in the game with the Bearcats and gave them a chance to win late in the game. Paris will need his big play ability in 2021, as well.
Chase Watts is a returning three-year starter at quarterback for the Eagles. After an outstanding junior campaign, Watts was invited to throw for the coaching staff at Texas Tech. Watts should thrive under Jeff Weaver’s offensive system, and I look for Watts to have the best year of his high school career in 2021. He is a natural leader and is laser-focused on leading his team farther in the state playoffs this year than the Eagles quarterfinal appearance a year ago. He is a mobile, dual-threat quarterback who can beat you with both his arm and his legs. After two seasons as the Eagles’ starting quarterback, Watts is poised to play his third year at the position with excellent decision-making and big play capability.
When I asked Paris football coach Jeff Weaver where he thought his team was at this point of the summer leading into the start of next week’s game, Coach Weaver said, “I was pleased with how we played (at the Magazine scrimmage). Obviously, not in mid-season form, but I think ahead of where a lot of people would probably have expected us to be with respect to the coaching change. That is attributed to our seniors; we have a good senior class with a lot of good leadership and they have worked hard to be ready. I really liked the pace that we were able to play at and I think we can use that to our advantage. But at the same time, I am very concerned about the heat we are going to have this week and being prepared for that.”
Like a lot of the Eagles’ opponents in 2020, Paris was able to surprise the Golden Arrows in the first game of the season. The previous two years had not been good for the Eagles as they rebuilt a program that was depleted of numbers and talent from a previous run of state playoff appearances. Paris opponents had lost respect for the Eagles football program, and many assumed a victory anytime they played the Eagles. But all of that changed in 2020, and in the first half of last year’s game with Lavaca, the Eagles had built a very large halftime lead going into the locker room.
But in part of the growing pains of transitioning the Paris football program from one of no success to one that would go three rounds deep into the state playoffs, the Eagles emerged from the halftime locker room against Lavaca and played in a lack luster manner against the Golden Arrows. And give Lavaca credit; the Arrows played hard in the second half and closed within 14 points to make a game of the contest in the second half. Immediately after the game, I interviewed then Eagles coach Tyler Clark, and I will just say this…he was not happy. So, the Eagles learned that night that you have to play two halves of each game. Coach Weaver added, “I think going into this game we have to work hard at controlling our emotions, our energy, and hydrate. We have to stay focused on four quarters of football. If we are able to get up we want to stay sharp. If we are not, then we will need to continue to fight through and try to finish on top.”
Going into this year, Lavaca will be looking to pull an upset against the top ten-ranked Eagles and gain a bit of revenge for the big loss they suffered last year at the hands of the Eagles. Last season, Lavaca was a talented, but young team going into the season opener at Paris. This year, those players are back for the Arrows, and they are more experienced and have gained size in the off-season. This year’s game will be played at Lavaca, and make no mistake, the Golden Arrows will come out fired up and ready to play against Paris. In front of the home crowd with an opportunity to pull a big upset to start the year…Paris must be ready to play and play for the entire ballgame. Coach Weaver has stressed this with his team. “I have stressed to the players that the difference this year is that we have more of a target on our backs. We are not going to sneak up on anyone. And we have to prepare for that. I think the kids are excited about that and welcome that challenge. But, it is a new experience for them, and we will see how they respond.”
Lavaca finished the 2020 season with a deceptive 1-7 record playing in the tough 3A-1 conference. The Golden Arrows lone victory was against Mansfield, defeating the Tigers 20-17. The Golden Arrows were young and playing in Class 3A against tough opponents such as Charleston, Cedarville, Greenland, Lincoln, and others.
The Arrows return eight starters on both sides of the ball, and those eight offensive and defensive starters gained valuable experience last year and will be focused on winning more than just one game. The Arrows return two all-conference starters that include running back Cazen Winters. Winters, a three year starter, according to Hooten’s Arkansas Football publication, “blends 4.7 speed with strength (440 lb squat, 270 lb power clean).”
The Golden Arrows are led at quarterback by junior Maddox Noel who passed effectively in 2020. The Lavaca junior demonstrated this summer in 7-on-7 camps that he is ready to eclipse his 2020 passing yardage of more than 1,000 yards. And a large portion of those yards will undoubtedly be directed at Lavaca senior wide receiver Jackson Floyd.
The question mark for this year’s Golden Arrows team will be their offensive line. According to Hooten’s, they are “unproven” and it will be up to the Paris defensive line to put pressure on Noel and to limit his ability to find his receivers. The Paris defense will also have to take advantage of the Lavaca offensive line to limit the yardage by their all-conference running back.
Coach Weaver commented, “Their (Lavaca’s) line is big. The running back and quarterback are impressive players. If they get out in space, that is where we really worry about them. We will have to tackle well against their running back.”
The Arrows are coached by Mark Headly who is steadily building a good football program at Lavaca. Last year, he played a lot of sophomores who had previous success in junior high football. They took their lumps in 2020, but as returning juniors, this is a talented class with a year of varsity football under their belts, and I look for the Arrows to be in a lot of football games late this season. It will be interesting to see, playing in a tough conference, if the Arrows can take the next step and close out some victories this season.
Several opponents in 2020 that may not have believed Paris to be as good as they were and who were defeated by Paris, will have the Eagles circled on their schedules for the return games this season. Specifically, teams like West Fork, Atkins, and Perryville will join the Golden Arrows in seeking to revenge unexpected losses to Paris in 2020. From my observation of Paris this summer and watching the players react to the coaching change that took place late in the spring, I believe the Eagles are focused on showing their 2021 opponents that the wins in 2020 were no fluke. This year’s team is an impressive group, led by an outstanding and unselfish senior class who cares only about team victories. If Paris stays healthy this season, it could be one of the best in program history.
On Friday, I observed the final portion of the Eagles practice as they prepared for Lavaca and focused on conditioning in the hot August heat. After the practice, I had the opportunity to visit with Coach Weaver. Coach Weaver has great respect for Lavaca and their coaching staff, and he knows the Eagles will have their hands full this Friday night.
So, Eagles fans, the stage is set for what could be a fun year for Paris football. A lot of things have to go right; namely the Eagles have to remain healthy and key positions have to develop and improve each week. But the talent and experience on this team is impressive, and I look for the Eagles to compete for a conference championship that could come down to a big, late-season game at Booneville to determine the 3A-4 champion and a top seed in the upcoming state playoffs.
But, as the cliche goes…”one game at a time.” The most important game of the year is this week at Lavaca. That is the only team Paris should be focused on at this time. And if this year’s game is like last year’s, you can bet the Golden Arrows will play all-out and for the entire game. It is a time for senior leadership to keep this team focused and respectful of each week’s opponent. And this week, that respect is for the Lavaca Golden Arrows.
Resident Press will be in Lavaca on Friday night to bring you coverage of the Eagles’ game with the Golden Arrows. RP will publish a story on this game and with each week’s game on Saturday in the online edition of Resident Press. Photographs from each week’s game will be available on Facebook at Pairs Eagles Sports by Sunday night of each week. And if you are unable’ to attend the game, quarterly scores of each week’s games will be published in real time on Resident Press. Just click on the “Press Pass” link on the RP app or website to see the Eagles’ scores, as well as other River Valley scores.
Football seasons is finally here! It is my favorite time of year, and I look forward to seeing you at the stadiums across Arkansas as RP covers the Eagles. See you there!
