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Van Alstyne turns back Paris High, 28-21
By Van Hilburn
Published November 8, 2009
VAN ALSTYNE — A couple of mistakes by Paris ended up being the difference in Friday’s regular season finale, as Van Alstyne turned back the Wildcats, 28-21, to clinch the District 10-3A championship and cap a perfect 10-0 season run.
More was at stake than the district title in this game, as Paris now advances to the playoffs as the Division II No. 2 representative and faces Argyle (10-5, 5-0) in the bi-district round at 7:30 p.m. at McKinney’s Ron Poe Stadium in a re-match of last year’s playoff game. Argyle beat Celina (6-4, 3-2), 29-14, on Friday to claim the District 9-3A title.
Van Alstyne takes on Celina on Friday at Little Elm in the other Division II game. In the Division I contest, North Lamar (3-7, 3-2), which held on to beat Commerce, 26-25, on Friday, takes on Prosper (9-1, 4-1) at 7:30 p.m. at Rockwall High.
It took almost a flawless performance, by the Panthers (10-0, 5-0), who did not commit a turnover. About their only vice were penalties of which they were flagged 11 times for a minus 90 yards, while Paris High (6-4, 4-1) was flagged 13 times for a minus 95.
Van Alstyne running back Orion Thomas slipped away from tackle after tackle in the first half and finished with 147 yards rushing on 27 carries. After gaining 106 yards in the first two quarters, Thomas was held in check for the most part in the second half.
So was Van Alstyne, which had racked up 209 yards in the first half and carried a 14-7 lead into halftime. But the Panthers gained just 66 yards total offense in the second half.
Paris was its own worst enemy in the final two periods, as Van Alstyne’s game-winning touchdown came when the Panthers recovered the ball on a kickoff, seconds after going ahead 21-14 on a Jordan Barnes 14-yard touchdown run. On the ensuing kickoff, Paris’ return man let the ball bounce in front of him and Van Alstyne’s Jordan Barnes pounced on it at the Paris 34.
Three plays later, Panther quarterback Chris Burge threw an 18-yard touchdown strike to Soloman Biscarro with 11:55 left in the game. Burge then added the PAT, leaving Van Alstyne ahead 28-14.
Paris came back with a 55-yard scoring drive that ended with sophomore Tavarius Williams scoring on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Corban Taylor with 7:51 remaining. Gabriel Vera added the PAT and the Wildcats trailed 28-21 with plenty of time remaining.
Paris defense stepped up in the next three series by forcing Van Alstyne to punt, but the Wildcat offense sputtered during the final two possessions.
Even a 15-yard face mask penalty on fourth down against Van Alstyne could not kick-start Paris’ offense, as Taylor was picked off in the waning seconds by Biscarro and Van Alstyne ran just one more play to end the game.
Taylor showed maturity in the pocket and even had one Tony Romo like scramble to avoid a sack in the fourth quarter. The Wildcat sophomore completed 8 of 23 passes for 140 yards, while Williams hauled down four catches for 123 yards. Tyrell Smith scored two touchdowns and rushed for 94 yards on 13 carries, highlighted by a 60-yard first-half run. Aaron Ethridge finished with 60 yards on 14 carries. Paris took its only lead of the game when Tyrell Smith scored from a yard out with 3:44 left in the opening stanza.
Burge tied the game with a four-yard run at the 34-second mark of the first quarter and then kicked the extra point.
A fumble by Paris was recovered by the Panthers and it led to Van Alstyne’s next score. A 76-yard drive ended with Thomas scoring from a yard out with 2:09 left in the first half, allowing Van Alstyne to take a 14-7 lead into intermission. That drive was highlighted by a 34-yard pass from Burge to Chance Grayson.
Defensively, Wildcat lineman Jamal Wooten had one of his best games, as the senior finished with 10 tackles, including seven solos and two tackles for loss. Senior end Cedarius Hill also had 10 tackles, including six solos, two sacks and two tackles for loss. Sophomore Brandon Ortega had nine tackles, as did Equettis Jenkins.
Burge completed 6 of 14 attempts for the Panthers, with Chance Grayson, Biscarro and Darnell each having two catches.
For the Wildcats it was their first district loss in 10 games and first as a Class 3A school. Van Alstyne also moved to 10-0 at home since moving into new Panther Stadium last year.
VAN ALSTYNE 28, PARIS 21
Paris 7 0 7 7 - 21
Van Alstyne 7 7 7 7 - 28
First quarter
Paris - Tyrell Smith 1 run, 3:44 (Gabriel Vera kick)
VA - Chris Burge 4 run, :34 (Burge kick)
Second quarter
VA - Orion Thomas 1 run, 2:09 (Burge kick)
Third quarter
Paris - Smith 2 run, 8:07 (Vera kick)
VA - Jordan Barnes 14 run, :47 (Burge kick)
Fourth quarter
VA - Solomon Biscarro 18 pass from Burge, 11:33 (Burge kick)
Paris - Tavarius Williams 36 pass from Corban Taylor, 7:51 (Vera kick)
Paris VA
First downs 14 16
By run 8 10
By pass 4 3
By penalty 2 3
Rushes-yards 36-158 39-193
Passing 140 82
Att-Comp-Int 8-23-1 6-14-0
Total yards 302 275
Penalties-yards 13-95 11-90
Fumbles-lost 3-2 1-0
Punts-lost 4-30.8 5-26.2
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING: Paris - Tyrell Smith 13-94, Aaron Ethridge 14-60, Taylor 8-28, Team 1-(20). Van Alstyne - Orion Thomas 27-147, Burge 8-17, Tanner Neill 3-15, Jordan Barnes 1-14.
PASSING: Paris - Taylor 8-23-1 140. Van Alstyne - Burge 6-14-0 82
RECEIVING: Paris - Tavarius 4-123, Darian Jones 1-8, Dominique Mitchell 1-8, Tevin Gray 1-1, Aaron Ethridge 1-0. Van Alstyne - Chance Grayson 2-38, Soloman Biscarro 2-23, Nathan Darnell 2-21.
INTERCEPTION: Van Alstyne - Biscarro.
RECORDS: Paris 6-4, 4-1. Van Alstyne 10-0, 5-0.
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