A stellar senior class of Paris Eagles football players closed the deal Friday night with a lopsided 61-19 win over Danville on a chilly night at Eagles Stadium. The win marked the 18th regular season win over the past two seasons, and led the Eagles to a second place finish in the 3A-4 conference, as well the conference’s number two seed heading into next week’s state playoffs. Paris will host the Riverview Raiders from Searcy in the first round that will be held at Eagles Stadium on Friday, November 12.
The Eagles came out of the starting gate quickly, looking to put the game away early and get their starters off the field, and that is exactly what they did. A hallmark of this year’s senior class is that they have always been ready to play each week, and last Friday was no exception. Even after a devastating and very physical loss the previous week at Booneville, the senior leadership for Paris came ready to play to not only win their final regular season game, but to gain momentum going into the first round of the playoffs.
By putting the game away early, Paris coach was able to substitute freely for most of the game. This allowed the Eagles to protect their starters from possible injury, as well as give reserve players valuable game experience. In fact, Weaver dressed out freshmen players for the game, and it appeared that Paris had dressed 40-45 players for the game. Freshmen such as Justin Churchman played their first varsity games, and the game provided a peak into the future for Paris football.
It should be noted that Jeff Weaver, in his first season as the Eagles head football coach, has done a tremendous job this season. It is difficult to take over a program that has very high expectations, and Weaver handled the pressure and the expectations very well. No doubt, Paris is going to miss one of the best senior classes of football players in its program’s history. They will be very difficult to replace. This year’s senior class has set the bar of expectations high for this program, and their legacy of being winners and builders of the Paris program will never be forgotten.
But Friday night’s game was also a glimpse into what I believe will be more good years ahead for Paris football. And after a winter and spring off season for the program, many players this year who received very valuable playing time in blowout wins will show the benefits of that experience next season.
Resident Press will have a preview next week of the Eagles first round playoff game against Riverview. Photos of the Danville game are now available on Facebook at Paris Eagles Sports.
It has been our pleasure at Resident Press to bring you coverage of Paris Eagles football this season, and we look forward to continuing our coverage during the Eagles’ run through the state playoffs!
