LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
PARIS – A pair of old rivals squared off on the gridiron on Friday night as the Paris Tigers hosted the Marshall Lions in the Little Illini Conference opener for both teams.
When the dust finally settled, the Tigers picked up their first win of the season with a 35-20 victory over the Lions. This marks the seventh-straight season that the Tigers have defeated their counterparts to the south. Paris improves to 1-2 overall and 1-0 in the LIC while Marshall falls to 1-2 (0-1).
After avoiding the remnants of Hurricane Francine throughout most of the day, conditions were perfect for football on Friday evening in front of a packed house at Tiger Stadium. Paris won the toss but elected to defer possession until the second half. Marshall began play near their own 30-yard line and methodically drove deep into Tiger territory with a balanced mix of the pass and the run. Facing second and 10 at the Tiger 23-yard line, Lions quarterback Trey Scott rushed towards the Paris sideline where he was met by Mason Byrnes and Carter Eastham. The latter forced the ball out and right into the arms of Madox Hutchings to give the Tigers possession at their own 22.
Byrnes wasted little time, picking up right where he left off last week at Charleston as he reeled off 27 yards on the first play from scrimmage and nine more on the next play. With Byrnes catching his breath on the sideline, Tiger quarterback Drew Rogers called his own number to pick up another first down with a 12-yard scamper. On the fifth play of the opening drive, Carter Crippes took a handoff from Rogers on a jet sweep up the Marshall sideline all the way in for the score with 6:13 left in the first quarter. Garret Rigdon added the extra point to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead.
Marshall’s next drive lasted just one play as Scott looked to his receiver over the middle of the field. In a matter of three minutes of actual time, Crippes not only scored the first touchdown of the game but he also recorded his first interception of the season near midfield. However, after driving the ball to the Marshall 35-yard line, the Tigers turned the ball over on downs.
The Lions picked up a first down on the next drive moving the ball to the Tiger side of the 50, but a defensive stand by the Tigers on fourth and one allowed them to get the ball back with excellent field position.
Starting at their 46-yard line, the Tigers looked to extend their lead. On the first play of the second quarter, facing a fourth and one of their own, Byrnes took the handoff and gained seven to keep the drive alive. On the very next play, Byrnes appeared to be shot out of a cannon as he sprinted 39 yards up the middle of the Lion defense for another Tiger touchdown. Rigdon added the extra point to make it 14-0 with 11:46 left in the second quarter.
Marshall would answer on their next possession with the key play being a 45-yard reception by Gavyn Boden that moved the ball all the way to the Tiger 15-yard line. Five plays later, Lucca Giannovolo put the Lions on the board with a two-yard run. The extra point was blocked to make the score 14-6 with 8:51 left in the first half.
With excellent field position once again, the Tigers could not muster any offense and were forced to punt near mid-field. Hutchings was called on to punt and he successfully pinned the Lions’ offense deep in their own territory at the five-yard line. After picking up a first down to get out of the shadow of their own goalposts, Marshall quarterback Trey Scott rolled to his right trying to find his running back in the flat. Crippes continued his sensational first half as he stepped into the passing lane for the interception and his second touchdown of the contest. Just like that, the Tigers regained a two-score lead, 21-6, with 6:42 left in the half.
Marshall shot themselves in the foot on their next drive after a couple of penalties negated huge plays. They did manage to move the ball into Tiger territory but fumbled near midfield for their third turnover of the half. Unfortunately for Paris fans, the Tigers could not pick up a first down and were forced to punt. Marshall drove to the Tigers’ 40-yard line as the first half came to a close.
Paris began the second half with possession of the football and a two-score lead. A 13-yard reception from Rogers to Vitale was followed by a 20-yard run from Rigdon to move the ball into the red zone. Two plays later, Byrnes took the handoff and appeared to gain enough yards to set up a first-and-goal, but he fumbled the ball into the endzone for a touchback to give the Lions the ball.
Marshall failed to gain a first down and was forced to punt the ball to the man of the night, Carter Crippes. It appeared as though three Marshall Lions had the opportunity to tackle Crippes near midfield, but that was not the case as the junior returned the ball to the 27-yard line of the Lions. It did not take long for Byrnes to atone for his fumble as he took the ball from Rogers and found paydirt on the very first play of the drive. Rigdon added the extra point and the Tigers grabbed a 28-6 with 8:01 left in the third period.
Once again the Tiger defense held the Lions forcing a punt. The Tigers were able to move the ball to the Marshall 40, but Rogers was intercepted on a batted ball to give the ball back to the Lions at midfield. Marshall scored on a two-yard run by Giannavola to make the score 28-12 with 1:43 left in the third.
Marshall kicked the ball out of bounds on the ensuing kickoff once again, but this time the Tigers forced them to re-kick. Andre Calhoun took the kick from his own 30-yard line and fumbled the ball. Marshall recovered and returned it to the Tiger 27-yard line. After a penalty and a fumble, Marshall faced a second and 22 from the 40-yard line. Scott found Boden between a pair of Tiger defenders for a 35-yard gain to the Paris five-yard line. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Ginnavola recorded the hat trick with his third rushing touchdown of the evening.
He would add the two-point conversion to make the score 28-20 with 11:50 left in the game.
Paris went from a comfortable lead in the second half to facing a must-score scenario to start the fourth. Starting from their own 30-yard line, the Tigers kept the ball on the ground with Rogers and Byrnes picking up yards in chunks to move to the Marshall 40-yard line. A bad snap was recovered by Rogers all the way back to the Tiger 39. Paris was forced to punt the ball back to the Lions with all of the momentum on their side. Marshall could not pick up a first down and was forced to punt the ball back to the Tigers with 6:03 left in the game.
The Tiger coaching staff chose to slow the game down, eating as much time off of the game clock as possible. Rigdon broke free for a 22-yard rush to the Marshall 30 with the clock under five minutes. From there, Rogers and Byrnes carried the load with Rogers calling his own number for the final two yards of the drive for the clinching score.
Paris dominated the ground game finishing with 320 yards rushing. Byrnes passed the century mark for the third-straight game as he tallied 197 yards on just 16 carries and two touchdowns. Rogers added 47 yards on 11 carries and he recorded a touchdown as well. Rigdon had three carries for 48 yards, Crippes carried just once for 26 yards and a score and Hutchings added two yards on four totes. Rogers completed seven of 14 passes for 54 yards and an interception. Karic Vitale hauled in five passes for 42 yards, Rigdon caught one pass for seven yards and Crippes recorded one catch for six. Paris was guilty of two turnovers while Marshall turned the ball over three times on the night.
Paris will hit the road Friday, as they head to Lawrenceville (0-3, 0-1) to battle the Indians in another LIC matchup. Marshall will host Olney on the same night.