Both boys and girls varsity soccer teams start their 2009 seasons this weekend at the Dr Pepper Varsity Cup in Sherman-Denison.

The Lady Cats, coached by Stephen Long and coming off a 10-9-2 season and 2nd-place finish in District 16-4A, open on Thursday at Denison's Munson Stadium with a 5:30 PM match vs. Denison.  They're scheduled to play district rival Springs on Friday at 7:30 PM at Sherman's Bearcat Stadium and play Denton on Saturday, 10 AM, at Munson.

The Wildcats, meanwhile, open with Amarillo Tascosa at 1:30 PM Thursday at Munson, then face co-host Denison at 7:30 PM Friday at Munson and McKinney Boyd at 9 AM Saturday at Austin College.  The Paris boys, coached by Steven Hamner, finished 11-9-1 last season and were 3rd in District 16-4A.

Consolation and championship finals in the Dr Pepper Cup are set for 5:30 and 7:30 PM Saturday at Bearcat Stadium and Austin College.

Both Paris varsity teams lost district MVPs in graduating seniors Ali Ryan (girls) and Sam Temple (boys).  The Lady Cats return all-district 1st-team senior selections in forward Brooke Taylor, district MVP midfielder Darby Pierce, midfielder Abbi Halbert, and defender Randi Mancuso.  The Wildcat boys return first-team forward Ariel Temporal for his senior year.

This year Paris is aligned in soccer district 20-4A that includes North Lamar, Greenville, Commerce, Sulphur Springs, and Princeton.  Commerce will field a boys team but no girls team.  An expanded playoff bracket will see 4 of the 6 schools qualify for the playoffs.

District play begins Feb. 9-10 vs. crosstown rival North Lamar.  Until then, both teams will participate in several tournaments and pre-district matches.  The boys varsity will co-host the annual Kings Trophy Classic next weekend, Jan. 15-17, at Noyes Stadium and North Lamar's R. L. Maddox Stadium. 

The Paris Wildcats outscored the visiting New Boston Lions, 37-13, in the second half to claim a 59-31 win Tuesday night and improve their pre-district mark to 12-6.

The PHS varsity boys basketball team held a 4-point advantage at halftime, 22-18.  The Lions used some long-range shooting, including four 3-pointers, to stay close to the Cats through the first 16 minutes of play.  After halftime Paris clamped down on New Boston's outside shooters and used full-court pressure to eventually wear down the Lions, now 6-10 for the year.

New Boston could only manage 4 points in the 3rd quarter and didn't score another field goal after halftime until the Cats already had a comfortable 33-20 lead.  Paris put the game out of reach in the 4th quarter when the Cats went on a 12-0 run to push their lead to 49-24, and they eventually led by as many as 30 points.

Junior guard Kendall King pushed the tempo with a pair of fast-break layups and an assist during the 12-0 run.  He finished with 10 points in the game.  The leading scorer was fellow junior guard Equettis Jenkins with 17 including the first 6 points for Paris on a pair of 3-pointers.

Seniors Roro Barr and Quin Rollerson added 8 and 7, respectively, as all nine Cats who suited up scored.  New Boston was led in scoring by Darrion Wade with 7 points, including a pair of 3-pointers which gave the visitors a brief 16-15 lead in the 2nd quarter.  Senior Trent McDowell knocked down a pair of free throws to put Paris on top permanently, 17-16.

Paris took both sub-varsity games.  The freshmen won, 52-23, behind 11 points by A. D. Burns and 9 by Brodrick Reed.  The JV won, 53-42, with Studarious Johnson scoring 15 and Shaqual McGrew and Tevin Gray adding 12 each.

Liberty-Eylau dominated in the paint and clamped down on Paris' outside shooters to take a 58-48 win Friday in a varsity girls basketball game in the Wildcat gym.L-E led most of the 2nd half but the Lady Cats, who enjoyed a 23-9 advantage at the free throw line, pulled to within 42-41 after sophomore guard Shanice Hill sank a pair of charity shots midway through the 4th quarter.  The Lady Leopards pounded the ball inside to twin posts Bianca Stevenson and Tia Day and connected on a pair of three-pointers to pull away down the stretch.

Paris, which closed out the pre-district portion of its schedule with a 6-15 record, was plagued by turnovers, poor shooting, and the Lady Leopards' tight defense and could only manage 12 field goals to 23 by L-E (9-5).  The Lady Cats open District 10-3A play next Friday, Jan. 9, by hosting Bonham in the Wildcat gym.

Stevenson was the game's top scorer with 19 points and Day added 13 as the Lady Leopards controlled the boards.  Paris was led in scoring by sophomore post Tiara Hall with 16, but L-E clamped down on the Lady Cats' outside threats of sophomore Ariole Jenkins and Hill, who could only manage 12 and 9 points, respectively. 

The Lady Cats jumped out to an 8-point lead with 4:20 to play before halftime, 20-12, when their full-court press sparked a 10-0 Paris run to start the 2nd quarter.   L-E recovered, and close out the quarter with a 10-2 streak to tie the game at 22-all at halftime.

Paris took a 3-point lead, 31-28, with three minutes to go in the 3rd quarter, but L-E took the lead for good on a layup, 3-pointer, and 18-foot jumper to go up, 35-31.

The Paris Wildcats varsity basketball team held off Van Alstyne in the final moments Wednesday to claim a 54-53 win for 3rd place in the Sherman Holiday Tournament Class 1A-3A boys bracket.

Junior Kendall King and senior Roro Barr led the Wildcat attack with 11 points each, while juniors Equettis Jenkins and Ced Hill added 8 and 7, respectively.

The Wildcats used a 23-point 2nd quarter to take a 31-22 halftime lead and still had a 49-40 advantage heading into the final quarter, but the Panthers held the Cats to only 5 points in the final eight minutes to close the final margin to a single point.  Van Alstyne, one of Paris' main District 10-3A rivals, was led by Jace Williamson with 27 points.

The tournament champion was 12th-ranked Sanger, which defeated Paris in overtime, 53-50, in the semifinal round.  Sanger beat Whitesboro in the title game, 53-43.

Officers for the 2009-10 Paris High Blazette drill team have been selected following tryouts held Saturday.  The captain will be Alexandria Hutchison, who currently serves as first lieutenant.   The new first lieutenant will be Raven Dangerfield and second lieutenant will be Paige Holt.  Hutchison and Dangerfield currently are juniors, while Holt is a sophomore.

 New Blazette officers: (from left) Raven Dangerfield, Alexandria Hutchison, Paige Holt

For the first time in the history of Texas Teacher of the Year, Paris ISD has two teachers nominated for the State Teacher of the Year award.  Please click here for the full story.  

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