Parisian

Tuesday's games: Paris 89, Pittsburrg 71 Liberty-Eylau 60, North Lamar 50 Friday's schedule: PG @ Paris Pitt @ L-E Had my first look at the new Pitt gym last night. It's a vast improvement over the old barn and seems to be making a difference in shooting percentage. I don't have exact numbers, but it seemed like Pitt made 50-60% of their shots with at least 15 3's. It was the best shooting performance that I've seen all year by a Paris opponent. Love the sunken floor and bowl seating on 3 sides. No doubt it will get some playoff action atlhough parking could be a drawback.

You have to remember this about football players transitioning to basketball: Football is a year-round sport in Texas. There is no off-season. It's not unusual to schedule heavy lifting sessions on (non-football) game days. Practice in other sports is only allowed after "off-season" work is completed. That's why you don't find many multi-sport athletes like you used to. They don't have time to develop other sport-specific skills and team chemistry. Seeing that big PG defensive line clog the paint is intimidating. Let's see how it translates over time.

PG was outscored 22-4 in fourth quarter. Paris and PG share an Achilles heel: The lack of a true point guard. MP took advantage of both teams with their defensive pressure on a night when their 3-point and free throw shooting wasn't at its best. Chism does a good job with that program. I was impressed with Burris for PG.

I notice the PG-MP game shows a 3:30 start. Is that for varsity?

PG plays Mt. Pleasant Monday. That will be a good test. MP doesn't have a lot of height, but they're athletic and relentless on defense.

Paris has been to regionals 4 of the past 5 years, and is a good bet to return this season. Cats are currently 15th ranked and 17-6. All 6 losses were to Class 5A schools by single digits (6 to Sulphur Springs, 7 to Lindale, 5 to Mount Pleasant, 4 to Princeton, 7 to Hot Springs, and 2 to Greenville). They beat one ranked 4A (Waxahachie Life), four ranked 3A's (Mineola, Van Alstyne, Commerce, Malakoff) and one 2A (Clarksville). They return 4 starters plus the district's newcomer of the year and the district's top coach. PG should finish second, and if their football players meld with the rest of the team could challenge for a return to regionals. The transition between sports takes awhile and sometimes never happens. L-E probably has the edge for third with North Lamar and Pitt battling for fourth.

I started working on a 4A-1 map. Only interested in that division due to Paris tie-in. Here's my link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1AKuHPZ_gqCAiUlIe-i1h2UX5Sj_Za6jm&usp=sharing

I'd add Athens to that group if they include a 6th member.

There's nothing flashy about Alvarado. They're just blue-collar workers who keep grinding. I doubt they get past Brownwood. They looked very vulnerable on pass defense. Don't know what happened to Paris, but they weren't the same following the Week 3 win at Gilmer. I wouldn't be surprised to see changes to the offensive scheme next year to better utilize their receiver talent and Hohenberger's passing ability. Alvarado held them under 100 yards rushing for the game. The defense needs some major rebuilding. Just wondering what the 2020-21 district alignment will look like?

Alvarado, on offense, resembles Celina with a big running back (#34 Colby Sampson), a 2,000-yard rusher who does a good job following his blockers. He had almost 400 yards in their early-season loss to #4 Decatur. They don't pass that much, but the QB is tall and effective on run-action rollouts. Paris defense will be tested. On the other hand, Alvarado hasn't seen a run attack like Paris maybe all year, certainly not in their district. This could be a barn-burner.

Paris beat Alvarado 14-10 in a 2016 area playoff. That was an upset. This one is more of a tossup game, but I like the Cats' chances in this one. They've basically had 3 weeks to heal and correct some of those defensive issues that popped up during the 3 district losses.

I was under the assumption that all district games have been moved to 7:30 start times to allow for bands to arrive in time. The Celina HS website shows a 7:30 start

Sorry, Regal, just woke from a long nap, but as usual you've got the basics covered on this matchup. So here's my observations: Last year's game was not a true indicator of the two teams' relative strength. I'm not sure I've ever seen Paris play as perfect a game as that 54-14 mauling. From the Paris side, it was a thing of beauty. But I'm betting Celina remembers and will come prepared. They've basically had 4 bye weeks to focus on this game. Two weeks ago, Paris was riding high with a top 10 ranking and legitimate state championship aspirations. But Melissa exposed some warts, especially on defense. I didn't see the Melissa game, but reports say that the tackling was not up to recent Paris standards and the secondary coverage was porous. Brendan Lewis is all-state worthy, but the Paris D made him an all-American that night. I did catch the Anna game and saw some more poor tackling that the Paris D doesn't normally display plus the secondary didn't look as sharp as they normally do. I know there have been some injuries in the secondary plus the linebacking play has fallen off. A power team like Celina will be a tough test if they don't fix those problem areas. The offense is still potent. You've got to stop Jackson inside first plus contain damage on the outside edges. Hohenberger didn't have a good game vs. Anna (just 2 passes, and 1 was awful). He's got to hit a couple of key completions to keep teams from packing the box. If he can, and they don't have any key turnovers or drive-stopping penalties, they can still score with anybody. Not trying to cop out, but I don't know how to evaluate this game. If the Cats were on a roll, it would be different, but winning at Celina is never easy even in a brand-new stadium. BTW, the only reason to watch the Argyle-NL game is to see the battle of the bands at halftime. The rumor is that NL will be dropping down in classification next year, perhaps to 3A-1. They need some help like that to be competitive again.

I don't know the circumstances that led to the scheduling of this particular game, but I'm betting it wasn't an ideal matchup on either end due to the the travel distance between the two schools. Teams from odd-numbered districts who are traditionally tough opponents are often left scrambling to fill their non-district schedules. Traditionally weak opponents don't have that problem.

Final: Paris 59, Anna 7. I think we can officially declare 7-4A-1 a 4-team district. Despite the lopsided score, there were lots of missed tackles by the Paris defense plus substandard secondary coverage. That's two weeks in a row that's happened and a troubling trend with Celina and Argyle coming up back-to-back.

Most points scored on Paris since 2016 playoff loss to Van.

Not trying to disrupt this family feuding, but there's several positives still remaining for Gilmer. From an outsider's perspective: They're better than last year and seem solid in the sub-varsity programs. The QB had a bad start but was better in the 2nd half. Gilmer has some good receivers and with the RB back in the mix they're a dangerous offensive team. The road out of Region 2 runs clearly through PG. Last night served as a dress rehearsal for the defense. The more practice time against the wing T can only help. I'm betting they get two shots at PG again this year. There's still plenty left to play for, even with Carthage and Newton waiting in the wings.

Cats have lots of fine-tuning to do on offense before district begins in two weeks. They won't be able to overcome all those penalties against the likes of Melissa, Celina, and Argyle. Still, Zy'kius Jackson ran for 179 of Paris' 300 rushing yards. He's a beast despite drawing defenses' primary focus. Paris threw for 80 yards including a couple of key long connections to set up scores. Cats are showing a strategic passing threat they haven't had in 3 years. The defense wore down in the second half but was missing several starters due to injuries and cramps. Several players see double duty on offense and defense and the early season heat and humidity factors into the results. A seasonal climate change would do wonders for both units. I was surprised to see all the empty orange seats for Homecoming. Is construction affecting attendance this year? The Paris side seemed sparse, also, for such a top-rated game. I have no doubt lots of Cats' fans decided against fighting the parking wars plus the heat.

I’m more impressed with Paris FB #22 Zack Jackson each new game. He makes the Cats’ wingT roll. Paris is missing 2 starters on defense who went out on early injuries. Cats get the ball to start 2nd half. They need to score and not give Bucs any hope of comeback.

Nevermind...I just found the parking information on the Gilmer website. Due to the new construction, it looks like a nightmare.

I've been to games at the baseball field, but it's my first trip to Buckeye Stadium. Is there visitor parking at the Career & Tech building or along Bradford Street? I'm usually at the stadium an hour before kickoff.

We're looking at a matchup of #5 Class 4A teams Friday. Paris is now 5th in Division I and Gilmer 5th in D2

Homecoming these days is all about supporting the mum industry, HC queen and king popularity contests, a reason to stage a dance, and silly dress-up days. It's not the big alumni draw like it once was. If you can't have a bonfire and burn something, what's the point? It's just not the same tradition it used to be.

Or maybe your coaching staff isn't worried about distractions. My class is having its 50-year reunion this fall. Homecoming for Paris was last week. We chose to avoid the 100-degree temps and schedule it, instead, for a more traditional fall date of Oct. 18. So instead of sweating through a 42-7 rout, we will witness a top 10 battle vs. Argyle. There's something to be said about wisdom with age.

The modern coaching bible reads, "Thou shalt schedule Homecoming before district". Gilmer's choices this year were Atlanta (Aug. 30), Paris, or Newton (Sept. 27). Homecoming before Labor Day should be illegal, so would you rather risk a loss to a good 4A-1 team or super 3A-2?