LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
CHARLESTON – Old Apollo Conference rivals squared off on Friday, Sept. 6 as the Paris Tigers traveled to Coles County to face the Charleston Trojans.
The Trojans held off the Tigers for a 25-18 win to move to 2-0 on the season. The Tigers fall to 0-2.
If you are of a certain age, that age being 25 or older, you know what facing the Trojans meant. The Red and Gold held the upper hand over the Orange and Black for decades until the Tigers broke a long losing streak in 2012. Since Paris joined the Little Illini Conference in 2015, these two rivals did not face each other until last season, when the Tigers lost by the score of 56-20. The Trojans dressed 20 seniors that night.
Paris received the ball to start the game but quickly turned the ball over. Madox Hutchings attempted to punt the ball to Charleston, but the snap was low, forcing him to attempt to run for the first down. Hutchings made it to the sideline and appeared to have enough for the first, but the officials said he stepped out shy of the marker to turn the ball over on downs.
Charleston began their opening drive at the Tiger 28-yard line as the result of the botched punt and quickly drove inside the Paris 15-yard line. But, the Tiger defense stiffened, forcing a 27-yard field goal to give the Trojans a 3-0 lead with 7:20 left in the first quarter.
Backed up under the shadow of their own goalpost, the Tiger offense went back to work looking to put points on the board. It only took four plays before Mason Byrnes caught a swing pass from Drew Rogers and turned the screen pass into a 74-yard touchdown to give the Tigers the 6-3 lead.
Charleston began their next drive at their own 31-yard line and proceeded to march down the field with a run-heavy attack. The drive took up most of the first quarter, ending with a four-yard touchdown run. The extra point was blocked to make the score 10-6 with 1:57 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Tigers began their next drive at their own 20-yard line and were unable to record a first down, even though it appeared as though they were awarded an extra down. After running three unsuccessful plays, the game officials said that it was still third down. So, instead of punting the ball to the Trojans, the Tiger offense ran what they were told was a third down play. The first quarter ended as the officials huddled to discuss what had just happened, concluding that the Tigers went for it on fourth and were stopped short. The refs awarded the ball to the Trojans at the Tiger 26-yard line. From there, Charleston found paydirt from the 14-yard line as Bonstetter found Chase Clough in the corner of the end zone for the score. Once again, the extra point was blocked, making the score 15-6 with 8:54 left in the first half.
Paris faced another long field as they began at their own 29-yard line. Byrnes went right back to work with a 15-yard run on third down to move the chains. Rogers found Carter Cochran open over the middle on the next play for a 34-yard reception to move the ball to the Charleston 27-yard line. As was the case last week, the Tigers shot themselves in the foot as Rogers carried the ball inside the 10-yard line. Unfortunately, a personal foul penalty pushed the ball all the way back to the 25 on third down and the Tigers failed to gain the first. Fortunately, though, the Tiger defense held the Trojans, forcing them to punt.
Paris was backed up to their own 19-yard line for what they hoped was a long scoring drive to end the half. After gaining a first down via a penalty, Rogers found Carter Crippes deep down the field for a 52-yard reception to move the ball to the Trojan 20-yard line. Add to that a horse-collar penalty at the end of the play and the Tigers had a first down at the Charleston 15-yard line. Rogers hit his brother Dawson on fourth and one, but he was stopped just short of the goal line with 0:11 remaining in the half. With just one second remaining, Byrnes plowed in from one yard out to make the score 15-12 at intermission.
After deferring to the second half, the Trojans began the third quarter at their own 25-yard line. Charleston converted on fourth and one from their own 33, but junior defensive end Carter Eastham batted down a pass three plays later forcing a punt. The Tigers began their first drive of the second half at their own 20 but could not pick up a first down. The second possession for the Trojans started at the Tiger 40-yard line. On the second play from scrimmage, Koen Brinkerhoff met Trojan tailback Ben Coffey in the hole, jarring the ball loose. Byrnes was the right man in the right spot as he recovered the fumble at the 36-yard line. Exactly eight seconds later, Byrnes streaked up the middle untouched for a 64-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion failed, but the Tigers led 18-15 with 5:19 left in the third.
Beginning with their worst field position of the night, the Trojans looked to tie or take the lead with all of the momentum favoring the Tigers. After moving into Tiger territory, Drake East came up with a huge sack to move the ball back to the Trojan 42-yard line, forcing another punt. Paris failed to pick up a first down and kicked the ball back to Charleston. Attempting just one pass on their next drive, the Trojans grabbed the lead following a 37-yard run from Coffey to make it 22-18.
Beginning at the Tiger 20-yard line to start the fourth, Rogers was intercepted at his own 29-yard line on the second play of the drive. The Tiger defense stiffened once again, forcing a turnover on downs. On the second play of the drive, Rogers found Hutchings on a screen pass that resulted in a touchdown. However, the Tigers were flagged for an illegal block in the back to negate the go-ahead score. Another bad snap on special teams led to a turnover on downs for the Tigers, giving the Trojans the ball at midfield.
It was old-fashioned, smash-mouth football from Charleston on their next drive, as they pounded the ball into the middle of the Tiger defense to eat precious time off the clock. Charleston added a 35-yard field goal to make the score 25-18 with 1:30 left in the game.
Andre Calhoun took the ensuing kickoff at his own 15-yard line and sprinted up the middle to the Charleston 40-yard line. Rogers hit Karic Vitale for 15 yards and a first down, but the Tigers were unable to pick up another first as time expired.
Rogers completed 10 of 21 passes for 194 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Vitale caught one pass for 13 yards, Crippes had two grabs for 65 and Byrnes hauled in three passes for 74 yards and a touchdown. Rigdon had a pair of catches for 10 yards, Cochran caught his only pass for 31 and Dawson Rogers gained a yard on his only catch. Byrnes was also a force to be reckoned with on the ground, carrying the ball 10 times for 126 yards and a score. Rogers carried nine times for 24 yards and Rigdon added two yards on two totes.
Paris will finally enjoy some home cooking as they host the Marshall Lions (1-1) on Friday, Sept. 13 at Tiger Stadium.