Note to Our Readers: The following story was sourced in its entirety from Mr. Glenn Parrish, Communications Director, Booneville Schools. Mr Parrish is a RNN Sports contributor, and we thank him for bringing this story to our readers.

The Booneville Lady Bearcats were 2-4 at one point this season. They went into Friday night’s home game with Cedarville at 9-4.

Included in the seven-game winning streak was two easy wins to earn a second straight Battle on the Border tournament title in Arkoma, then five straight Conference 3A-4 wins.

While Leigh Swint continues to be the biggest force, they have done so with a variety of players taking leadership roles.

Swint is the leader in all offensive categories – scoring 13.5 points per game, grabbing six rebounds, recording 3.2 steals, and handing out 2.9 assists – but during the current winning streak there have been six different players reach double figures in scoring.

Senior Carah Miller, the other Lady Bearcat captain, has hit double digits in all five conference games, averaging 12.4 in league play, brining her season average to nine per night.

Putting in 18, she was especially productive against Paris when the Lady Bearcats returned to the floor for the first time in 18 days.

Miller is also part of an inside force that includes Linley Garrett and Karmen Kent. Between the trio are an average of almost 17 rebounds per night, highlighted by a 12-rebound night by Garrett in Two Rivers. Kent had nine boards against Danville and Miller pulled down nine against both Paris and Danville.

On the offensive end Kent has seen her season scoring average climb to 6.9 after hitting double figures in three conference games and scoring eight in another. Kent led the Lady Bearcats with a season high 13 at Two Rivers.

Junior Lexi Franklin went down with an injury in a game in Two Rivers and was forced to sit out the Danville game. She hit a 3 against Cossatot River last Tuesday for her only points, but it put the game away. She is sporting an 11-point per game average.

The Lady Bearcats hope that gets Franklin back on track. She had scored a season high 23 in the win over Paris and had already scored eight first quarter points before being slowed by the injury.

Layla Byrum, a starter, makes her presence known on both ends of the floor even if her contributions are not typically seen in the scoring column, though she is quite capable of doing that. Byrum is second on the team in both steals and assists.

Off the bench, sophomores Roni Tillery and Angie Brown have logged considerable minutes with Tillery sometimes running the point. Tillery scored 12 in a game in Arkoma. Brown had a streak of six straight games with an assist snapped against Cossatot.

JJ Keatts and Ciara Smith complete head coach Tim Goers’ roster and have both seen action in 10 of 13 games.

Going into Friday’s games the Lady Bearcats had won 22 straight conference games dating back to late in the 2020-2021 season.

To continue the streak, and or secure a second straight conference title they will have to do so playing six of eight games on the road starting on Jan. 24 at Hackett.

Boys

The Bearcats have put together a little run of their own, winning three straight Conference 3A-4 games after starting 0-2.

In one of those the Bearcats hit a school record 15 3s in beating Danville 84-64. They followed that offensive explosion up with another in a 73-59 win over Cossatot River last Tuesday.

In Danville and Cossatot games junior Colter Fisher scored 22 and 20, respectively, and sophomore Jace Washburn, who came over from football in time for conference play, scored 20 and 19.

Dakota Mattson, another sophomore who also plays football, accounted for 20 points in the two games.

Seniors Raiden Ferguson and C.J. Johnson, along with sophomore Noah Harrel have also been key contributors for the resurgent Bearcats.

Overall the Bearcats went into Friday’s game 7-5 overall. 

The Charleston Tigers made the trip down Highway 22 recently to play an important conference game with the Paris Eagles. Paris Gymnasium was full of anticipation for the game that featured the Tigers and their star player, Brandon Scott with the then Paris Eagles who at the time were undefeated at 5-0 in conference play. Scott, had just recently scored 40 points in a win for Charleston over Cossatot River.

The Tigers won a hard-fought game over Paris by the score of 60-51. Brandon Scott scored 27 points, but, he was not alone. Several Tigers were instrumental in the win, and the collective talent that featured four Charleston players who had finished as 3A state football champions in December, proved to be just too much for Paris.

After the game, Charleston coach B J Ross commented, “What a great high school environment. Both student sections were locked in! We knew Paris had a good team and knew it would be a physical game. I am proud of how we played defensively and stayed under control mentally. We got big buckets from Drake Dodson. Reese Merechka controlled the offense and that’s huge. Brandon Scott scored 27 points, but I was more proud of the fact that he did it after missing some shots early. He didn’t force or press it, he just let the game flow to him and he got going. Sebastian Gaona, Tyton Jones and Brevyn Ketter do so many little things that go unnoticed in the stat sheet.”

Paris will travel to Charleston on February 7 for the return game at Tiger Center. Looking ahead for both teams, Paris will play at Danville on January 27, and Charleston will host the Booneville Bearcats on January 27.

It can be a thankless job at times.

To make the decision to run for and serve on a local school board requires commitment and passion to make a difference in your school system and in the community. Board members are not paid for their service, and on their shoulders, they bear the responsibility of the operation of the district and the safety and welfare of their students and employees. Along with the superintendent of schools, they are the leadership in any school district, and it is a tough job. Face it; a lot of times, board members and district administration only hear from us when we are mad about something. So, the job of school board member requires a special commitment and a comfort of knowing that the work and service is for the benefit of the students, staff, and community.

Arkansas School Boards Appreciation Month is observed in January each year. Along with the board members’ professional organization, the Arkansas School Boards Association, districts across the state take time to recognize the work and service of local school boards across the state. And last week, the Paris school district honored its board of five committed members who serve the district.

Mr. Jim Loyd, Superintendent of Schools for the Paris School District, presented each board member with a certificate of appreciation for their service. With each presentation, Mr. Loyd gave a short anecdote about each board member.

After thanking the principals and staff of the district who provided items of appreciation that adorned the board room saying thanks to the board, Loyd began with the presentations of certificates to each board member.

Starting with board president Cory Wells, Loyd commented, “Cory has served for approximately eight years. Tracy (board member Tracy Richey) is the smartest person I know; she has hired me twice (referring to two different terms as superintendent that Loyd has served the district). Dustin Schluterman, graduated the year before I first came to Paris!”

Continuing with the presentations, Loyd, speaking of board member Beth Ulrich, Loyd said, “Beth is…(interrupted by Ulrich when she thought he was going to refer to age or time in district)…she was an elementary secretary when I was in the district last, and we have had many adventures over the years dealing with issues within the school.”

Finally, in recognizing board member June Gilbreath, Loyd commented, “June has been in the school district longer than anyone I can remember!”

Everyone had a big laugh, and it was obvious to everyone in the room that the Paris superintendent, along with others in the room, truly appreciated the work and service by each board member.

So, to each member of the Paris school board, as well as to school board members across the state, thank you for all that you do. Your work is both important and appreciated, even if we do not tell you often as we should. You make a difference every day for our students, and for that, we are grateful.

In a career-best game for Paris’s Brailey Forst, the Lady Eagles defeated Charleston by the score of 64-48 in a conference game at Paris Gymnasium. Forst led the Lady Eagles with 32 points and was a factor both in scoring and rebounding. The win may be a turning point for the Lady Eagles who of late have been playing their best basketball of the season to date.

After the win, Paris coach Jonathan Vire said, “It was a great win…a huge win for us. Charleston played a tough game; they hit a bunch of shots and played extremely hard. They cut the lead to seven late in the game, but we were able to take their punches and pull away. We had a great atmosphere tonight. It was great seeing an awesome student section and a big crowd. Hopefully, they will keep showing up. Brailey had herself a career night still dealing with a bum ankle. She put on a show and led the way with 32 points. We got huge contributions from Annabelle Perry, Jayden Wells, Preslee Bowman, and Kaydence Freeman. The girls are figuring some things out.”

Paris followed-up the win over Charleston with a road conference win at Cedarville last week. At press time, Paris was preparing to host Cossatot River for their second meeting of the season. The Lady Eagles hope to avenge an early conference season loss in December at Cossatot River. Looking ahead in the schedule, Paris will travel to Danville on January 27 for a conference rematch with the Lady Little Johns.

Students began second semester classes the first week in January, and today, Paris Middle School took time out to recognize its students who achieved high grades in classes during the Fall 2022 semester.

Highlighting the ceremony was the recognition of Paris eighth grade student David Roberts (pictured above) who was honored as the only eighth grade student who had “All A’s” for the entire first semester.

Students in grades 5-8 were honored for first and second nine weeks, both “A’s and B” and “All A’s”. Many parents turned out for the program to applaud the students’ hard work and commitment to academics.

RNN congratulates the Paris Middle School students as well as all students across the River Valley for their dedication and hard work in the classroom!