Paris, Charleston Put 3A-4 On The Line

Paris hasn’t had much success against Charleston in recent history but the Eagles are hoping that changes this weekend.

The Tigers have dominated the rivalry in recent history, winning the last seven dating back to 2001.

Though the two teams figure to determine the 3A-4 race, Paris coach Bryan Hutson isn’t putting all the weight on this one game.

“It is just the second conference games,” Hutson said. “We take them one at a time. There is a lot of football to be played win or lose and there are a lot of good teams in the conference but it is an important game. It was a close game last year so the kids have been looking forward to it.”

Both are coming off impressive wins in last week’s conference opener. Paris blanked Mansfield while Charleston scored 55 points at Danville. The Eagles have allowed just 26 points this season and have already recorded three shutouts.

“Defensively they are just so strong up front,” Charleston coach Doug Loughridge said.  “They’ve got seven or eight guys back from last year’s team. They’re an attack style defense. They run to the football well. They get to run fits and they are very aggressive. The biggest thing is they tackle well. When they get there they are in a bad mood. So we’ve got to do a good job up front protecting and when we can, run the football.”