The Aubrey Chaparrals football team suffered their third district loss of the season, falling to the Paris Wildcats 49-17 on Oct. 10.
The Chaps kept the score close in the first half, but the Wildcats found another gear in the second half to send the Chaps home empty-handed.
“We played another quality opponent on the road; we just didn’t execute well enough in all three phases to win the ball game,” said Keith Ivy, Aubrey athletic director and head football coach. “We turned the ball over three times; we were pretty poor in tackling and didn’t execute or play well enough overall to get a win.”
Aubrey was the first to break the plane of the goal line when quarterback Will Storey slipped away from Paris’ defense for a 65-yard touchdown run, putting the Chaps up 7-0 after a successful extra point kick.
The Wildcats answered with a 59-yard touchdown run of their own by running back Jay Baugh, tying the game at 7.
Running back Connor Murphy put the Chaps back on top 14-7 with a long rushing touchdown, this time from 68 yards out.
That’s when Wildcats quarterback Tyler Heath started cooking, leading Paris to a 21-0 run with three touchdown passes of 23, 76 and 34 yards to Baugh.
Chaps kicker Peyton Campbell would add a 34yard field goal near the end of the second quarter, sending the teams into the half with Paris leading 28-17.
Paris took control of the second half, shutting down Aubrey’s offense and going on a second 21-0 nothing run fueled by three more passing touchdowns to take the win with the final score of 49-17.
Ivy said the Chaps had multiple chances to make the contest closer but were unable to capitalize in the red zone.
“We had two possessions inside their 20-yard line in the first half and came away with 3 points, and that really hurt us, not coming away with more points,” he said. “They also had a goal line stand against us in the second half as well. We were on their five-yard line first and goal, so there was a possible 21 points right there that we left, yeah, and when you’re playing these good teams, you have to score, and you’re going to have to make some big stops in there.”
Murphy led Aubrey with 147 yards rushing on 18 carries, followed by 81 yards rushing from Storey and 59 yards from running back Johnnie Johnson.
Despite their 1-6 record, Ivy emphasized that his team’s plan is to continue to fight.
“We’re going to continue to battle,” he said. “I told the kids after the game that we coaches are going to coach just as hard this coming week as we did the first week of the season. Whether it’s the state championship game or if we don’t win another game, the preparation put forth by these coaches is going to stay consistent, and we’re going to need the players to continue to work and prepare, and hopefully we can kick that door in here at some point and get us a win. We have three games left, [but] we’re still mathematically not eliminated from the playoffs, so let’s just start with Community.”
