Paris Battles Knox County in 32-28 Thriller

The Paris Coyotes turned in a strong offensive performance against Knox County on Friday, October 2, but came up just short in a back-and-forth contest, falling 32-28. 
Paris accumulated approximately 220 yards of total offense, with a balanced attack that produced four touchdowns and kept the Coyotes within striking distance throughout the night. 
Paris struck first in dramatic fashion when Logan Mitchell returned a kickoff 68 yards for a touchdown with 11:53 remaining in the opening quarter. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful, giving Paris an early 6-0 advantage. 
Knox County answered later in the first quarter with a 25-yard touchdown pass and successful two-point conversion to move ahead 8-6. 
The Coyotes regained the lead in the second quarter when quarterback Spencer Minks connected with Mitchell on an 8-yard touchdown pass. Paris again came up short on the conversion, but carried a 12-8 advantage before Knox County responded with another touchdown and conversion to take a 16-12 halftime lead. 
Knox County extended its advantage in the third quarter with another touchdown pass, although the conversion failed, making it 22-12. 
Paris refused to go away. 
In the fourth quarter, Sawyer Clements broke loose for a 31-yard touchdown run. Minks then connected with Mitchell on the two-point conversion, cutting the deficit to 22-20. 
Knox County answered with a touchdown and successful conversion to stretch the lead to 30-20, but Paris again responded. Clements scored his second touchdown of the quarter, this time on a 24-yard run, and Minks found Parker Conover for the two-point conversion. 
That brought Paris within two points at 30-28. Knox County ultimately added two more points to account for the final 32-28 margin. 
Clements led the Paris ground game, finishing with 10 carries for 76 yards and two touchdowns. Minks added 62 rushing yards on 13 carries, while Mitchell contributed 14 yards. 
Through the air, Minks completed 6 of 9 passes for 81 yards, including the touchdown to Mitchell. Mitchell was Paris' leading receiver with four catches for 61 yards, while Bryce Wade recorded two receptions for 20 yards. 
Defensively, Clements led the Coyotes with 14 total tackles, while Minks recorded nine. Mitchell and Kaden Lehenbauer each finished with six tackles, Conover had five, and Kaden Graupman and Gabe Rowe recorded four apiece. Wade added three tackles. 
Knox County relied heavily on its passing attack, completing 17 of 26 attempts for 171 yards. Paris' defense held Knox County to approximately 49 yards on the ground, but the Eagles were able to make enough plays through the air to escape with the four-point victory. 
Despite the loss, Paris showed plenty of fight, scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter and twice answering Knox County scores to keep the outcome in doubt until late in the game.