After a week one win over Lavaca that saw Paris have its share of mistakes and other issues, the Paris Eagles will take the field at home again this Friday night as they host the Johnson County Westside Rebels. In addition to winning the game, Paris (1-0, 0-0) will look for more inspired play combined with fewer turnovers as they move through the non-conference portion of their schedule. Paris will play at home this week against JC Westside, and will go on the road the following week, September 11, for their last non-conference game against the West Fork Tigers.
Not every school played last Friday. Some schools were not scheduled to play during zero week, and most of those schools will open their schedules this Friday night. Additionally, some schools either postponed or cancelled games due to the pandemic. In any case, a significant number of the total high school football programs have now played their first games. In addition to football, volleyball games were played for the past week, as well. So now we all hold our collective breaths that the viral positivity rate related to football and volleyball events do not significantly increase the total number of COVID-19 cases in the schools and throughout Arkansas. But one thing is for certain, if we all want to see the sports seasons to continue, we and the schools must comply with the state directives. This is a point that is illustrated below by a letter that was sent last week from the Governor’s Office to high school coaches. The letter was made public on Twitter by ArkansasVarsity.com. If you want to read the letter in its entirety, just click on the Twitter link below.
As a sign of the times during this season of unknowns, some schools are moving up senior night ceremonies during the early portions of their schedules. Senior nights are traditionally held on the last home game of the season, and are a time when senior athletes, cheerleaders, and bandsmen are recognized before their last home games. And because completion of the entire season is not guaranteed, many schools have elected to hold senior night ceremonies at the earliest possible points in their home schedules. For the Paris Eagles, their attention turns to their week two opponent, the Johnson County Westside Rebels.
The Johnson County Westside Rebels play in Class 2A, district four. The Rebels’ conference includes Mountainburg, Quitman, Conway Christian, Bigelow, Hector, Yellville-Summit, and Magazine. Looking at opponents from 2019 that will be common to Paris in 2020, the Rebels lost to Lavaca 49-28, and to Two Rivers, 49-46 in overtime. Two Rivers lost last Friday night to Class 2A Quitman, 59-0.
Junior quarterback Brayden Edwards takes over this year at the helm of the Westside offense. The Rebels have an outstanding all-conference receiver in Dakota Beavers. He is described by Hooten’s Arkansas Football publication as being explosive and “can score anytime he touches the ball.”
The challenge for this year’s edition of the Rebel football team will be its low participation level and lack of depth. The Rebels will be able to move the ball, but their defense will be an issue due to lack of experience and depth.
Paris head football coach Tyler Clark is impressed with the Rebels physical play on the line of scrimmage. “To be honest, on the offensive and defensive lines, they look pretty physical. They fire off the ball on the offensive and defensive lines, and it is a very similar story to last week; if we don’t come out and take care of our business, who knows what could happen.”
The Rebels have an all-conference running back in James Linton. According to Hooten’s, Linton could rush for over 1,000 yards this year in Class 2A. Coach Clark indicated that Linton will run between the tackles and behind a very physical line for Westside. “They are very physical, and when you look at them, they look more physical right now than we did last Friday night.” So Coach Clark has challenged the big offensive line of Paris, and it will be interesting to see how the Eagles respond on the line of scrimmage against Westside.
But if there is a lesson to be learned from week one, it is that the Eagles must learn to respect every opponent, regardless of record, and come ready to play for the entire game. There was a noticeable let down in the second half last Friday after the team had jumped out to a 32 point lead. With no disrespect to Lavaca or any other team, if this had happened against Booneville, Atkins, or any other conference contender, it may have been a different outcome for the Eagles. This is part of establishing a winning culture, and the Paris program had fallen on hard times the past three years. Coach Clark and his staff are working hard to instill the characteristics into this program that winning programs possess, and playing hard, regardless of how far ahead you may be, is an aspect Paris has not had a lot of experience with in the past few years. If this lesson was learned against Lavaca, it could benefit the team greatly for the rest of the season. We will know when the Eagles take the field Friday night against Westside.
Coach Clark thinks the mentality of the team is good as they enter practice for week two. “I think they are good. I think they know we have a lot of things we need to get fixed, and I think they are all on board with that. I don’t think any of them are upset that we are coaching them hard or are not real pleased with last week. I think they all understand why we feel that way. I think most of them feel the same way, and that is a good thing.”
Paris will have the advantage of having played a game, and Westside will be playing their first of the season. Westside will return home on September 11 to host Two Rivers in their second week of the season for another non-conference match-up with the Gators. Paris wants to work out remaining issues this week against Westside and eventually win three non-conference games to start the season with a win this week and another against West Fork on September 11. The Eagles want to win those games without losing players to injuries, and move into the bye week before conference play begins on September 25 against Mayflower.
So this is very much a game in which Paris needs to concentrate on what they need to do and to fix the issues from last week. The Eagles need to come out and play with 100% effort for the entire length of the game. The high humidity Friday could have been a reason for the let down, but it affected both teams, and Paris may have to address some conditioning issues this week in practice. As of the publication date of this story, the game time weather forecast according to Weather Bug is a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms during the day and clearing at night. So it could be another game that may be impacted by humidity and possible dehydration. I am sure the coaching staffs of both schools will emphasize hydration to their players for Friday night.
Paris showed signs of how explosive they can be on offense against Lavaca, and the defense showed how they can rise up and create a turnover to stop a drive. It was just one game, and the Eagles did a lot of good things. Now, in week two, we will see if Paris takes the next step and improves their play against Westside. The Eagles have to respect the Rebels and be ready to play all night to win and to make progress toward achieving the team goals this team has set for the season.
Friday’s kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Eagles Stadium. Remember that AAA and Arkansas Department of Health regulations will be in effect, and that masks will be required to be worn by all in attendance.
The Eagles had a good crowd last Friday night to see Paris win, and the team needs another good showing by their fans. Resident Press will be there Friday to bring you all of the action in Saturday’s weekly recap of the game against Westside.
On an additional note, RP will cover the Lady Eagles volleyball game at Booneville on Monday. Look for a recap of that match Tuesday afternoon at residentpress.com
See you at the games!
