Paris wanted to play loose and have fun before a rematch with a conference rival.

The Coyotes won their regular season finale 61-14 on Friday at Schuyler County (1-6). They secured their second straight winning season and also a No. 3 seed in Class 1 District 8 to play at North Shelby in two weeks.

Head coach Cody Carney said Paris (6-3) was fighting some injuries that should improve in its extra week of preparation before districts. The Coyotes were balanced offensively with 217 rushing yards and 210 passing yards.

“Our kids were more relaxed coming into the game,” Carney said. “It was good to see them out there having fun. We ran a couple trick plays. Sometimes, we put so much pressure on ourselves and kids can get a little tight when they’re playing.”

Carney said Schuyler County quarterback Gage Pauley, who went into the week 11th in passing yards for the Rams’ sixth-best passing offense, was injured. He said Paris wasn’t sure exactly what its opponent would look like.

The replacement did a good job with 232 total yards, Carney said, but the defense played well for Paris. Chase Kendrick, while dealing with sickness, finished with 14 tackles, four pass breakups and one hurry of the quarterback.

“They had a senior that played receiver and played a lot of running back for them,” Carney said. “They ended up putting him at quarterback. Even though they got some yards, we were able to eventually get them off the field.”

Sawyer Clements ran for 81 yards on 12 carries for Paris, Payden Crain ran for 68 yards, and Logan Mitchell had 168 receiving yards and two touchdowns on six catches.

Paris lost 34-26 to North Shelby this season and 58-26 in the district championship game last year.