Paris difficult to slow on either side
When Jeff Weaver took over the Paris football program in April, he found out just how committed and business-like the Eagles were after just a few days on the job. What he didn’t know was how that approach would resonate on the field once the season kicked off in August.
It took all of one game for Weaver to get that answer.
“These guys have worked really hard,” he said. “They had a good taste of success last year, and that was a huge benefit for us. When I got here, they really didn’t discuss last year. Their attitudes were that they wanted to do even more this year.”
After going 11-2 a season ago, the Eagles are on pace to do just that.
Paris (6-0, 3-0 3A-4) has been balanced on offense and smothering on defense for Weaver. That mixture has led to multiple overpowering showings for the Eagles, who are in a three-way tie for first place in the conference with Booneville and Perryville – teams they’ll face over the next two weeks after tonight’s game with Atkins (4-2, 2-1).
But Weaver isn’t completely taken aback by what his team has been able to do so far. He knew how good the Eagles were last season when they reached their highest win total since notching 10 victories in 2012. He was also aware that a lot of those players from that group were underclassmen.
“This is a senior-laden team that was coming off a really good season,” said Weaver, who was the head coach at Russellville the previous four years. “We lost a couple of really good linemen and a couple of good skill players. But we’ve got the majority of the big playmakers back, and we’ve got enough linemen.
“Now what we don’t have is a bunch of depth. Still, I think any senior-laden team that has talent has a shot [to win]. I’ve coached teams that have had talent like this before, and it would be a problem because there was only one football and not enough touches to go around. But these guys have stayed focused on the big goal and enjoy watching other guys have success. That speaks volumes about the character of those seniors.”
The way the Eagles have played has stood out as well.
Paris is averaging 44.5 points, which ranks among the top 10 in the state, on the strength of a gripping rushing attack.
The Eagles have four players with at least 139 yards on the ground, with three averaging 10.5 yards per carry or better. Senior running back Duke Walker leads the team with 475 yards rushing and nine touchdowns.
In addition, senior quarterback Chase Watts, who rung up more than 2,000 yards of offense last year, has completed 80% (51 of 64) of his passes for 893 yards and 12 touchdowns against just 1 interception. He’s thrown touchdown passes to six different receivers, three of whom have three scoring receptions apiece.
“I feel like we’ve got about five or six guys that can take it to the house on any play,” Weaver said. “And [Watts] is smart, experienced and talented. That always helps when you’ve got that type of player at quarterback.”
It also helps when your defense is playing very well. Paris is allowing 6.5 points, which is tops in the state, and has shut out two opponents. The Eagles yield just 122.7 yards per outing and have forced 15 turnovers. Senior linebacker Nate Henderson has a teamhigh 51 tackles, including 10 for losses, while senior defensive back Beau Blaine has picked off four passes.
“We’ve got some really good linemen and a good linebacker corp that fly to the football,” Weaver said. “We’ve been able to kind of confuse offenses. … just play really, really fast and aggressive.”
Today, the Eagles should see a team that’ll try to do to them what they’ve done to others.
Atkins is coming off a game against Danville where it produced almost 500 yards on offense in a 50-30 victory. Quarterback Zach Berkemeyer has completed 99 of 165 passes for 1,501 yards and 17 touchdowns to lead the Red Devils, who lost to Paris 42-6 in 2020. Receiver Devin Roberts has 41 catches for 656 yards, and Reese Bixler has more than 560 yards from scrimmage with 4 touchdowns.
And like the Eagles’ core group, the bulk of Atkins’ offensive threats are seniors.
“They’ve got a lot of size up front as well,” Weaver noted. “They’ve got a big strong quarterback and plenty of skill outside. So we have to play well as a team. But what I felt won the game for us last week against Baptist Prep is that they rushed for only 11 yards, and we were able to make them one dimensional.
“We’ve got to do the same against Atkins and make them one dimensional one way or the other, either make them run the ball or throw the ball. If we can do that, we like our chances of at least slowing them down. But if they’re able to run and pass when they want to, we’re in trouble.”