Third-quarter turnovers doom Kennedale as Paris runs away with victory
Kennedale would love to have the third quarter to do-over in its Class 4A Division I area-round playoff game against Paris.
Two Kennedale turnovers, deep in Paris territory, returned for touchdowns doomed Kennedale in a 35-17 loss in a battle of the Wildcats at Poe Stadium.
Kennedale (9-3) trailed 14-3 at the half, but took the opening drive of the third quarter down to the Paris 34. Facing a fourth-and-6, a halfback pass was intercepted by Paris safety Jaylen Henderson and returned 84 yards for a 21-3 Paris lead.
After the teams traded punts, Kennedale drove to the Paris 10, but a fumble was picked up by Paris linebacker Gerald Palmer and returned 88 yards for a 28-3 lead with 59 seconds left in the third.
Paris (9-2) had two offensive first downs in the second half.
Paris scored on its opening possession of the game on a 42-yard run by Do’rian Williams, but Kennedale answered with a 28-yard Craig Shue field goal to cut the lead to 7-3 with 6:57 left in the second quarter.
With 1:51 left in the first half, Kennedale went for a fourth-and-2 from its own 33-yard line. Kennedale looked to have it blocked perfectly for a first down, but Paris linebacker Jalen Gray dove through and dropped D.J. Kirven for a 1-yard gain.
Paris scored on the ensuing play on a 34-yard run by Williams for a 14-3 lead with 1:38 left in the half.
Kennedale scored twice, late, on two Evan Jowers to Jaden Smith passes from 33 and 26 yards, but it was too little, too late.
Game was over when: With Kennedale trailing 21-3 and after driving from the Paris 49 to the 10, a fumble was picked up by linebacker Gerald Palmer who raced 88 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown and a 28-3 Paris lead with 59 seconds left in the third quarter.
Play of the game: Paris safety Jaylen Henderson’s 84-yard interception return for a touchdown was a thing of beauty. Henderson was not fooled at all by a halfback pass and glided over to pick off the pass. The senior then weaved his way over to the right sideline and patiently waited for blocks before bursting down the sideline for the score.
Offensive player of the game: Paris running back Do’rian Williams rushed eight times for 99 yards and had first-half touchdown runs of 42 and 34 yards to help build a 14-3 halftime lead. Williams didn’t log a carry in the second half.
Defensive player of the game: Hard to pick a defensive player of the game, even with a fumble and an interception returns for touchdowns. The whole Paris defense was so fast in stifling the Kennedale offense, especially early in the game. Kennedale had only 72 yards of offense in the first half, 25 carries for 60 yards rushing and 12 passing yards.
Unsung hero of the game: Paris sophomore linebacker Jalen Gray’s diving take down of Kennedale running back D.J. Kirven on a fourth-and-2 from Kennedale’s own 33 was huge. Kennedale turned the ball over on downs and Do’rian Williams darted up the middle for a 34-yard score on the ensuing play to give Paris a 14-3 lead, just before halftime.
What’s next? Paris (9-2) will advance to the regional round of the Class 4A Division I playoffs and face Waco La Vega (10-2), ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press Class 4A state poll, which was a 68-21 winner over Melissa. Details of the game have yet to be set.
This story was originally published November 23, 2018 at 10:15 PM.