MALVERN- The Paris Eagles will make the long trip to Malvern on Friday to play their final road conference game of the regular season against the Magnet Cove Panthers. Kickoff in Malvern is scheduled for 7 p.m.
At press time, Paris was preparing for an extremely important home conference game with Centerpoint that would go a long way in determining the playoff fate of the Eagles. A win over the Knights makes this Friday’s game another big game in boosting the Eagles into the playoffs. A loss last week over Centerpoint would all but eliminate any hopes of Paris making the playoffs.
In addition to the playoff implications of this game, it is still possible that it could be the last football game of the year for Paris. The Eagles are scheduled to play Danville at home on November 3, but depending on who you talk to, it is still not out the realm of possibility that the final game with the Little Johns will not be played. In fact, Senior Night for Paris was moved up to last week’s game with Centerpoint to ensure that seniors would have a game to be recognized. Danville cancelled their season last year just before the start of conference play, citing safety concerns for their players due to low participation numbers. That seems to be a concern again this year, but since Danville has played conference games, a possible cancellation by Danville at this point in the season would result in a forfeit win for Paris.
Magnet Cove defeated the Eagles in Paris a season ago by the score of 47-13. Paris was banged up late in the season and had only tallied one win earlier in the season at home against Two Rivers. The Eagles were reduced to running out of the wildcat formation for much of the game and were predictable to their opponents. But this year’s team has now won three games on the year, and, depending on the outcome of last week’s game against Centerpoint, could still be in the running for a five seed in the state playoffs.
Magnet Cove had a coaching change this year with Dean Adams taking over for Caleb Carmikle who left Magnet Cove to take the head coaching position at Rison. The Panthers spent a large portion of the season ranked in the Top Ten in Class 3A until they were upset by Centerpoint, 41-40. As of October 13, the Panthers are 5-2 overall and 2-2 in conference play. The Panthers have wins over Poyen (42-8), Fordyce (40-36), Baptist Prep (76-7), Danville (44-0), and Two Rivers (47-8). Magnet Cove has losses to Centerpoint (41-40), and Bismarck (50-15). At press time for this story, the Panthers were preparing to play Jessieville on October 20.
Magnet Cove has games remaining at home vs Paris this Friday and will finish their regular season at Glen Rose on November 3. If the Eagles are to remain in playoff contention, they will have needed to defeat Centerpoint last week and would also need to give Magnet Cove their third loss, and a head-to-head victory over the Panthers in case of a tiebreaker. A third loss by Magnet Cove makes the possibility of the Panthers finishing with four losses a likely event with the Panthers playing Glen Rose in week ten.
The Magnet Cove Panthers are a team composed of a large senior class, but, according to Hootens Arkansas Football publication, lack depth on their roster. One such returning senior is Luke Harper who plays on defense as a tackling machine against both the run and pass. Harper also plays on offense as a running back.
Paris, as of October 6, has played two consecutive conference games on the road with their sophomore backup quarterback, Brady Owens. Owens has performed well while being thrust into the starting lineup. Starter Maddox Watts’s status was unknown as of the deadline date of this story. In addition to keeping the Eagles in playoff contention this season, Owens and other underclassmen on the team have gained valuable experience that will payoff next season for the Eagles.
Watch for RNN Sports’ post-game story on this game on Saturday afternoon on our website at residentnewsnetwork.com. Photos from the game will be posted on Facebook at Paris Eagles Sports next week.
So travel safely on Friday, and we’ll see you at the stadium!
