Parisian

Sat down this morning and replayed the first Paris-Argyle meeting and have these random observations: Both teams can look back on cleaning up mistakes in execution (turnovers and penalties). Argyle can certainly point to some missed opportunities on their end. Paris can point to a muffed punt which set up Argyle's first score, a couple of blown coverage assignments which gave the Eagles two easy TD catches, and a killer scoop&score near the end of the first half that extended Argyle's lead to 21-7. The only score in the second half came after Paris turned the ball over on a 4th-down gamble at midfield. Argyle was definitely the better team that night, but the 21-point final margin was misleading. Paris was coming off their district bye week and had two weeks to prepare. The Cats added the option-pitch to their offense in that game which may have caught Argyle off-guard early, but the Eagles quickly made adjustments. They pretty much shut down Paris' ability to go wide in the second half and they collapsed the pocket to prevent Hohenberger from escaping on scrambles. If I'm not mistaken, it may have been Tito Bryce's first or second game back from injury. At any rate, he definitely wasn't 100%. I watched the Argyle-LaVega stream last night, and he looked like his old self. That's going to put extra pressure on the Paris defense next week. It doesn't take a genius to guess that Argyle's game plan will be to pound between the tackles behind that big O-line and pick their spots in the passing game. You always expect Argyle to have the advantage on special teams, but the Cats have to do a much better job on punt returns (assuming there will be opportunities). They gave up way too much field position in the first game. As previously stated on here, this has been a one-sided series with Argyle owning an 11-0 edge and average winning margin of 25.4 points since the school's first meeting in 2008. The realist in me always hopes for a one-score game in the fourth quarter. That's only happened twice in the series' history. I just hope the winner goes on to a state title and we're able to look back on this game to say "That was for the state championship."

Extremely proud of this Paris team. Because of the two COVID forfeits to start district, they've essentially been in playoff elimination mode since week 7. Can't say enough about the job they've done piecing together an undersized but proficient O-line that has the offense clicking on all cylinders now. The Cats have had better defenses in recent years, but this season's bunch is gritty and has managed to get key stops and takeaways when needed. This is the first Paris team to advance to the regional final since the 1988 state championship year. They knocked off an unbeaten No. 1 team in the state (Denison) that year to win regionals and advance. They had lost to Denison earlier during the regular season. Now they face another unbeaten, No. 1-ranked opponent in Argyle, a team they also lost to during the regular season. (There will be time to revisit that game next week, but it was closer than the 21-point final margin.) Could this be deja vu? Probably not, but I wouldn't bet against it.

I doubt the Paris-Melissa game will be live streamed. The key matchup in this game will be the Paris offense vs. the Melissa defense. The Paris O-line has really been a major surprise this season. They're not big but they're quick and efficient and create consistent seams for those running backs to squeeze through. If they don't self-implode (turnovers, penalties), this could be a track meet, and that undersized Paris defense has been stellar all season to trust that they can make enough key stops to stay in the game.

All things considered, especially in this era of COVID, the Paris coaching staff has done an admirable job fashioning a team that's highly competitive and fun to watch. Those two forfeits (to Melissa and Anna) basically caused a 10-day midseason shutdown in the program and put Paris in extreme danger of not making the playoffs. And, understand, that was coming right after the high point of a solid upset win over Midlothian Heritage on the road. Overcoming that physical and mental strain speaks volumes for coaches and players alike. As for the game last night, the physical mismatch along the line of scrimmage was dramatic. In the immortal words of an old coach of mine, "Little'uns don't beat big'uns unless the little-uns have bigger hearts and souls." The Cats needed to play near-perfect to keep it close against Argyle, and those two key turnovers (a muffed punt in the first half and a scoop & score in the second half) were too much to overcome. But both teams can be encouraged that they got a stiff pre-playoff test. I believe Paris gets Dallas Lincoln in the first round, then it looks like a rematch vs. Heritage in round 2, and that potential delayed meeting with Melissa in round 3. It's not an insurmountable path to the regional finals and potential rematch with Argyle. And, remember, COVID is waiting to upset this year's playoff bracket. At least it's an opponent Paris has already faced and beaten.

Went back and checked. You're correct. Argyle is 10-0 in the series. I somehow missed 2012 (a 41-8 loss), which makes a new composite average score of 43-17. This will be the 3rd district meeting of the two schools.

As Regal mentioned, Argyle is 9-0 in this series which started in 2008 with a 41-21 bidistrict playoff loss at Little Elm. Paris had just dropped down to 3A, ran the table in a weak district and came into that game confident they could run roughshod over (at that time) an unfamiliar smaller school that seemed overmatched. On a very windy night, the Cats opted to receive to start the game and got pinned down in the shadow of their own end zone. Argyle jumped out to a 20-0 first quarter lead and never looked back in this series. The average score has been 43-18, and only two games had final margins less than 20 points (31-20 in 2015 and 34-26 in 2018). That 2018 game was a classic played in the rain at Eagle Stadium that (if I remember correctly) wasn't decided until a muffed punt in the final minutes. That 2018 Paris team had the physical size up front to hang with Argyle. I've seen every game in this series. Most have been over by halftime. As I said before, I just hope we've got a meaningful game in the fourth quarter. Hey, it's still 2020 where weirdness is commonplace.

Other than the PG game, Paris has performed admirably on defense this year but the Cats will be mismatched along the line of scrimmage. Hopefully, they can catch some breaks on defense and bust loose for some big plays on offense. I'm hoping for a competitive game in the fourth quarter and some confidence building for the playoffs.

I don't know the district tiebreaker rule for a 3-way tie but most districts seem to cap point differential at 14-16 points. If Paris' forfeit loss to Anna is capped at 16, the 3-way points tiebreaker would have Anna at +13, Paris at -2, and Kaufman at -11. In that case, Kaufman would be the odd team out if Kaufman loses to Melissa, Paris loses to Argyle, and Anna beats Terrell. As I see it, the only way Paris misses the playoffs is if Kaufman AND Anna both win plus Paris loses to Argyle. Texas Football has Melissa favored by 19 over Kaufman and Terrell favored by 10 over Anna.

I wouldn't get too wound up over playoff matchups right now. The COVID cloud is still hanging over everyone and could even hit a potential state contender like Argyle on the eve of the playoffs. It's a weird season for football at all levels (HS, college, pro). I don't know what the district 3-way tiebreaker is, but I assume point differential might be in play. My only question is how you count a forfeit. Doesn't it officially list as a 1-0 loss? If so, Paris would have the advantage on a 3-way tiebreak.

Unless you're planning to attend a game in person (a dicey proposition under limited COVID seating, especially for the really good games), the good thing is that UIL opening up live streaming this year gives you a virtual cornucopia of possibilities from the comfort of home. I'll probably switch between Argyle-Melissa and PG-Carthage, but if those become unwatchable, there will be endless options available. TexasFootball prints a weekly guide of video streams.

The state of Texas now maintains a Public Schools COVID-19 dashboard. Schools are required to report their cases on a weekly basis and the data is supposed to be updated each Wednesday. https://dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/schools/texas-education-agency/ Yesterday, I was able to download a district-by-district data file. This morning the link was taken down. There may be a legitimate explanation, but I'm curious to know why.

Woke up this AM to the notice that Paris has cancelled their next two games, not only this week vs. Melissa but next week vs. Anna as well. I'll leave the political insights to others and turn my viewing attention, instead, to Stars-Lightning Game 4 tonight. Trust the bubble.

You can find the Melissa audio and video streams at the Melissa ISD website or go straight to their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGLO92Hc225rOOtpmr6H6-g Paris is only live video streaming home games, but their radio broadcast will be on KBUS-FM and easttexasradio.com.

I think Stepp nailed it when he wrote that Paris' best chance is to keep the score below 30. He favors Melissa by 8. I've been impressed by the Cats' undersized defense, but Melissa's combination of speed and size could make for a long night unless Paris can get some turnovers. The O-line showed some improvement last week, but mainly the Cats had too much speed for the Heritage defense. I don't think that will be the case this week vs. Melissa. Two weeks ago, Paris was facing a gauntlet of PG-Heritage-Melissa in consecutive games. I thought if they could steal a win in that tough stretch they'd be set up well the rest of the way (they don't face Argyle until the final regular season game and the rest of the district is a combined 2-12). The last two Paris-Melissa meetings have been close, exciting contests. Hoping for the same this year.

Cumby at Chisum has been cancelled for Friday. Chisum looking for a replacement opponent.

Final: PG 35, Paris 7

Paris switched from the spread to the wing-t in mid-season two years ago. It was a brilliant move that fit their personnel at the time. While I'm not privy to any inside info, I would not be surprised to see a mid-stream switch back this season. Hohenberger is a potential difference maker. As for this week, I just hope the defense can continue to show improvement and not wear down against a relentless PG attack.

North Lamar vs. Community this week and NL vs. Anna next week have been cancelled.

We've still got 48 hours to go. No guarantee that we'll make it to Week 3.

Paris News just reported that Detroit at Cooper is cancelled

That's the best the Paris D has looked since early 2019. They really impressed me not cratering against Celina's huge O-line. The tackling was outstanding. Of course, Celina helped with the turnovers and penalties. The Celina defense stuffed the box and didn't allow many breakouts for the Paris skill players. Hohenberger can make plays, but the Paris offense has got to find ways to give him time. I know 10-7 slugfests aren't everyone's cup of tea, and, yes, the game was early-season sloppy, but I kinda like the throwback to the old days.

Metro Christian is pass-oriented and was able to out-gain the Cats last week. They only scored twice but had a couple of red-zone meltdowns that allowed Paris to pull away. The Cats will always have some dangerous skill players, and Hohenberger is a solid 2-way threat who looks like a legit all-district QB candidate. Cats don't have the size they've had the past few years, and will be challenged to win the line of scrimmage against most top teams. They developed some poor tackling habits last season that really put the brakes on a promising start for 2019. That trend carried over into Friday's game. This Celina game will be an interesting test, especially with tough games coming up next vs. PG and Heritage. The last two Paris-Celina matchups have been watershed moments. Cats won 54-14 in 2018 in a rout that really sparked their region semi run. Celina administered a 34-0 whipping in 2019, and Paris never really recovered before ending with a first-round playoff exit.

I have no ideal what their pay structures will be; however, the AD was also serving as HS assistant principal so I wouldn't be surprised if AD would just be one of his admin duties. Schools are facing a tenuous financial future from the fallout of COVID-19 and loss of oil/gas revenues. This seems like a prudent move for the times ahead.

I'm not aware of any local ties. The school news release just mentioned that he was at Heritage for 6 seasons.

I'm amazed how a subscription to a sports forum automatically qualifies everyone to know more about a pathogen that the world's leading immunologists admit they still have not fully figured out. I certainly don't have a crystal ball to forecast if high school sports return in any form next year. My only hope is this: If they do, and the threat of COVID-19 remains high, I'd like to see the UIL loosen restrictions on live streaming of events. I love watching HS sports, but I'm in that most vulnerable group and I'm not willing to risk a horrible death anchored to a ventilator to pack into a stadium or gym. Oddly enough, that shouldn't affect soccer matches, where it's easy to practice social distancing (from a spectator viewpoint) in near-empty football stadiums. No knock on soccer, but I speak from personal experience. That's the last HS spectator sport that I saw in person (back on March 6) and I felt totally safe.