Paris High School’s ground game overwhelmed Charleston’s defense, as the Tigers racked up 336 rushing yards in a 48-14 win on Friday in Paris. 

Senior wide receiver Carter Crippes rushed for 152 yards and junior running back Dawson Rogers ran for 127 yards. They both ran into the endzone multiple times to contribute to the Tigers (2-0) six total rushing touchdowns. 

Their dominance in the rushing attack allowed them to possess the ball for 32 minutes and 58 seconds compared to Charleston’s 17 minutes and 26 seconds, which is less than what Paris had at halftime. 

Offensively, the Trojans (0-2) did have some bright spots. Junior quarterback Wyatt Gordon threw for 90 yards, doubling his last game total of 44. He also threw his first career touchdown for 29 yards to junior wide receiver Dray ’Sean Eich. Most of Gordon’s yards came in the second half. 

While junior running back Treylin Couch ran for 74 yards and totaled over 100 all-purpose yards, 65 of those came from a 65-yard touchdown in the first quarter. 

“It was nice to see him step up,” head coach Brian Halsey said. “Now I know he is frustrated. He had some plays that he would like to have back but I’m proud of him and his attitude and how hard he is and the leader he’s become.” 

Couch had a fumble on a punt return and one on a kick return which contributed to Charleston’s three total turnovers. The other was an interception by Gordon. 

“We improved in some areas,” Halsey said. “We did some good things at times, but we got a lot of work. We’re young, we got a lot of work to do. We got a lot of stuff to work on, correct and we’ll get back at it.” 

Despite the loss, the energy was still there for some players. 

“We still had a handful of guys playing hard and playing team football,” Halsey said. “We’ve got some bad habits to break and some attitudes to adjust and keep getting better every day.” 

The Trojans are off to an 0-2 start for the third time since 2018 and are looking for their first win since week three of last season. Charleston will play its first home game of the season next week, welcoming Carterville to Trojan Hill before Apollo Conference play begins the following week.  

The Trojans will play the next three games in Charleston, with the next two games at Trojan Hill followed by the Coles County Clash at O’Brien Field.  

 Bryce Parker can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].