CASEY – The Paris Tigers wrapped up their 2024 season on Friday, Oct. 25 with a 52-20 drubbing at the hands of the Casey-Westfield Warriors.
Paris ends their season with a record of 2-7 overall and 2-5 in the Little Illini Conference, while Casey wraps up the regular season with an 8-1 (6-1) mark.
Casey entered the game averaging 36 points per contest, so the Tiger defense needed to play near-flawless football to have a chance at the upset. Paris fell short of that mark, trailing 14-0 at the end of the first quarter and 28-6 at the half. A pair of big pass plays by the Warriors and a bruising ground game proved sufficient for a victory.
Casey scored first at the 5:43 mark of the opening quarter on a six-yard run, following that up on their next possession with a 40-yard pass from Nolan Clement to Ryan Richards to make it 14-0 with 3:12 left in the first. Paris scored their first points of the game with 7:45 left in the second period as senior tailback Mason Byrnes found paydirt from four yards out, cutting the lead to 21-7. That was as close as the Tigers got to the Warriors, as Casey marched down the field on their next possession to make the score 28-6 at intermission.
The biggest play for either team came on the Tigers’ first possession of the second half when Drew Rogers found a wide-open Carter Crippes down the sideline for a 92-yard touchdown to make it 28-12. Casey responded, scoring the next 24 points to grab a 52-12 lead with 0:49 left in the third quarter. The Warriors’ sizeable lead invoked a running clock throughout the remainder of the game.
Paris did manage to score one more time as Byrnes, on what would be the final carry of his brilliant career, scored from 69 yards out with 2:28 left in the game.
Rogers completed 10 of 23 passes for 305 yards, a touchdown and a pair of interceptions. Crippes set a career-high with 194 yards on five catches, including a touchdown and a two-point conversion. Byrnes added three catches for 40 yards with Dawson Rogers hauled in one pass for 45. Karic Vitale also caught one pass for 20 yards and Garret Rigdon added nine yards on his only reception.
Byrnes led the way on the ground with 74 yards and a touchdown on six carries. Rogers carried the ball eight times for seven yards. The Tiger defense surrendered 313 yards on the ground and 412 yards overall in the contest.