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Wildcats face Van Alstyne for district crown
By Van Hilburn
Published November 6, 2009
Paris High head coach Travis Smith didn’t have to give a lot of pep talks this week to get his team pumped up for tonight’s game.
Something about playing for a district championship against an opponent with a perfect record that made it very easy for the Wildcats to get hyped.
Paris High (6-3, 4-0) travels to Van Alstyne (9-0, 4-0) to take on the undefeated Panthers in the District 10-3A finale tonight. At stake is the district title and the top seed in Division II, that is if Paris wins and North Lamar (2-7, 2-2) clinches a playoff berth at Commerce (1-9, 1-3).
“Our kids are focused and ready to go. We’re starting to peak at the right time, which is great,” said Paris High coach Travis Smith. “This week I didn’t have to do anything extra to keep them focused. They know what lies at the end of the rainbow, a district championship.”
Paris is also trying to become the first team to record a win at Van Alstyne’s Panther Stadium, where the Panthers have gone 9-0 since moving into the facility last year.
“Van Alstyne is a good football team and they are well coached. They have a big running back who does a good job and they run a similar style of offense that we do,” Smith said. “We just have to do a good job of tackling, and when we do get the football, we have to get going.”
Van Alstyne, meanwhile, will try and avenge last season’s 55-21 drubbing at the hands of the Wildcats, which was its only district loss in 2008. Paris ended up clinching the District 10-3A title with a perfect 5-0 record and is one win away from repeating that accomplishment.
Smith said he’s pulling out all stops in tonight’s game.
“We are playing for the district championship, so of course we’re not going to hold anything back. We’re throwing everything in our arsenal at them. They’re going to get the full meal deal this week.”
The ‘full meal deal’ will likely include a heavy dose of sophomore quarterback Corban Taylor and his receiving arsenal, along with rushing duo Tyrell Smith and Aaron Ethridge.
Taylor leads the RRV in passing with 1,501 yards, having completed 92 of 162 attempts. He also broke the single-season touchdown passing mark last week and now has 17 for the season against six interceptions thrown.
Taylor is 219 yards shy of breakijg the single-season passing mark of 1,720 yards set last year by Quin Rollerson.
“He’s a product of the system and is the field general. We told him that he does not have to win the game, just control the game and he does a good job doing that,” coach Smith said of Taylor. “He knows his role and does a great job of hitting his receivers.”
Sophomore receiver Tavairus Williams has a team-high 25 catches for 508 yards and seven touchdowns, while Tyrell Smith has 20 catches for 312 yards and three scores. Smith also leads the team in rushing with 732 yards on 103 carries and has scored eight rushing touchdowns, while Ethridge has 603 yards on 85 totes and 12 rushing touchdowns.
The Wildcats have scored eight touchdowns on defense and special teams this season, with linebacker Kendall King leading the way with four on interceptions, fumble returns and blocked put returns. Linebacker Cory Battle has two interception returns for touchdowns, including an 85-yarder last week against Bonham. Paris’ defense has intercepted 15 passes and returned four for toucdowns.
Senior defensive end Cedarius Hill leads the Wildcats in tackles with 81, including 35 solos. He also has 12 tackles for loss and 7 1/2 sacks, both team highs. Sophomore linebacker Brandon Ortega has 64 tackles, including 38 solos, while FS Dominique Mitchell has 61 tackles, including 44 solos. Battle has 51 and is second in TFLs with seven.
Paris averages 353.6 yards a game offensively in a balanced spread attack. The Wildcats have 1,496 rushing yards and 1,686 passing. Defensively, Paris is allowing 288.9 yards a game, but has only allowed 155.5 a game in district play with 79 yards of that coming in the air. Paris is averaging 38.4 points and allowing 24.9 a game.
Van Alstyne is also very balanced, averaging 408 yards a game. The Panthers have 1,718 yards passing and 1,548 rushing. Quarterback Chris Burge has completed 95 of 154 attempts for 1,603 yards and 11 touchdowns while throwing seven interceptions.
His main targets are Soloman Biscarro (seven catches for 523 yards and six touchdowns) and Chance Grayson (eight receptions for 491 yards and two scores).
The Panthers’ ground attack is led by Orion Thomas, who has 828 yards rushing on 87 carries and seven touchdowns. Defensively, the Panthers are allowing 259 yards a game. Van Alstyne is averaging 35 points and allowing 17 a game.
PARIS HIGH WILDCATS
Tentative starting lineup for Paris Wildcats:
OFFENSE
Quarterback - Corban Taylor, 6-0, 166, soph.
Receiver - Dominique Mitchell - 6-0, 175, sr., or Equettis Jenkins. 6-1, 180, sr.
Receiver - Tavairus Williams, 5-9, 155, soph.
Receiver - Tevin Gray, 5-8, 165, jr.
Receiver - Darian Jones, 5-5, 155, sr., Cory Battle, 5-10, 170, jr.
Running back - Tyrell Smith, 5-9, 160, sr., or Aaron Ethridge, 5-9, 135, sr.
Left tackle - Dee Bogan, 6-3, 220, soph.
Left guard - Dylan Cathey, 6-4, 295, sr.
Center - Tez Allen, 6-0, 255, sr.
Right guard - James Henderson, 5-10, 240, sr.
Right tackle - Eric Campbell, 6-5, 275, sr.
DEFENSE
End - Cedarius Hill - 6-0, 180, sr.
End - Jamal Wooten, 6-1, 240, sr.
Tackle - Jordan Gill, 6-2, 310, sr.
Noseguard - Dylan Cathey, 6-4, 295, sr.
ILB - Jerrad Guarra, 5-4, 230, sr.
ILB - Brandon Ortega, 5-8, 155, soph.
OLB - Kendall King, 6-2, 180, sr.
OLB - Cory Battle, 5-10, 170, jr.
Cornerback - Equettis Jenkins. 6-1, 180, sr.
Cornerback - Kendrick Smith, 5-8, 150, sr. or Tevin Gray
Free safety - Dominique Mitchell, 6-0, 175, sr.
Kicker - Gabriel Vera, 5-8, 130, soph., and Andreas Rivera, 5-11, 155, jr.
Punter - Cedarius Hill - 6-0, 180, sr.
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