GLEN ROSE- The Paris Eagles traveled to southeast Arkansas on Friday night to take on last year’s undefeated 3A-4 champs, the Glen Rose Beavers. And on the last day of summer, it was too much experience, too much talent, and… too much Glen Rose for the young Paris Eagles. Glen Rose jumped out to a commanding first quarter lead, scoring on their first offensive possession to begin what would become a rout. The Beavers defeated the Eagles in Glen Rose on Friday by the score of 52-6. Glen Rose did not lose a conference game in 2022, and on Friday, that streak has now extended into the 2023 conference season.
Glen Rose went immediately to work on the defensive corners of the Eagles, taking advantage of physical mismatches of the tall and athletic Glen Rose receivers over the Paris secondary. The Glen Rose running game was equally impressive, breaking tackles at the line of scrimmage and producing explosive plays for touchdowns. In the words of one person at the game, the Paris disadvantage was characterized by playing a group of sophomores against a team comprised of many talented and experienced seniors. Paris was simply overwhelmed, but better times are ahead for this group of Eagles as the young team continues to gain experience that will pay off in the future.
With the win, Glen Rose improves their record to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play. Paris’s record drops to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the conference. The Beavers will travel to Jessieville next week, and the Eagles will return home to host the Bismarck Lions for homecoming. Next week continues a tough two-week stretch for Paris as the Eagles play the top-two teams in the 3A-4.
The Beavers led tonight at the half by the score of 45-0. As a result, the Paris coaching staff pulled many of the starters in the second half, playing young reserves in the sportsmanship rule-shortened second half. On a positive note, it appeared that the Eagles escaped the game without injuries that will impact next week’s homecoming game, and, perhaps more importantly, a stretch run in October where the Eagles have several legitimate opportunities to win conference games. A successful October stretch could land the Eagles in the state playoffs that begin November 10.
Glen Rose is one of the largest schools in the 3A classification. In fact, the Beavers were originally slated to move up to Class 4A in the next cycle, but eventually found themselves remaining in 3A. As a result, the 3A-4 may be one of the tougher conferences in the 3A classification from top to bottom throughout the conference.
RNN Sports will have a preview of the Eagles’ upcoming game with Bismarck in the RNN Logan / Franklin County weekly newspaper next week. And watch for photos from this game that will include a special album of the Paris band’s halftime performance, on Facebook at Paris Eagles Sports on Monday.
So, have a great weekend, and get ready for a fun week of homecoming activities, and we will see you at Eagles Stadium on Friday for the Eagles’ game with Bismarck.
