Paris hadn’t won a district football game since 2020 but have run up the scoreboard multiple times this season.

The Coyotes eclipsed 70 points for the third time this season on Friday in an 8-man Class 1 District 8 semifinal game in Paris but took it step further with a school-record-breaking 86-46 win over Schuyler County. They set the school single-game scoring record for the third time this season while earning the program’s first district win since 2020 – a 24-6 victory over Father Tolton when Paris was still an 11-man football program.

Head coach Cody Carney said this game resembled the regular season finale from two weeks ago against the Rams (5-5) in Paris. It was back and forth in the first half until the Coyotes (7-3) took an advantage with a forced fumble by Dayton Rush, preceding a 40-30 halftime lead for Paris. Carney said defense provided some separation in the second half.

“A lot of it was our kids being persistent,” Carney said. “On the defensive side of the ball, our kids were able to get their heels dug in and get a couple stops. We got a touchdown, then we got a safety on them and then got the ball back for another quick score. That’s where the game really turned in our favor.”

Carney said Schuyler County converted third- and fourth-down plays like a couple weeks ago but was confident that wouldn’t continue this time either. Brad Skinner led with 14 tackles, Rush and Reid Ragsdale each followed with 11 tackles, and Fountain had nine tackles.

The Paris offensive approach was different but effective in accumulating 427 yards. Luke Ensor threw five touchdown passes in the 56-24 win but didn’t need to be at the forefront this time with 69 of the team’s 100 passing yards. Gatlin Fountain ran for 241 yards and five touchdowns on 18 carries and also caught a touchdown pass.

“He’s improved on being more patient, letting the blocks develop in front of him and having better vision when running the football,” Carney said. “I’ve only gotten to coach him for two years now, but he’s a very explosive kid and a hard runner. Now he is combining the patience and vision with it, he’s developing into a really good complete back.”

Carney said it took some to figure out what the “philosophy” would be this night against Schuyler County after the Rams took time to make adjustments from the first meeting. He said facing a team another time brings it challenges, especially since it was the second meeting in two weeks between these teams.

“It’s a testament to our kids being resilient,” Carney said. “There’s a lot of unknowns because we were able to beat them two weeks ago and then we had a week off with a bye week. We had two weeks to prepare to make some plans for what they were going to do. I kind of felt like we were behind going into the game.”

Paris has another rematch against North Shelby (6-4) in Shelbyville at 7 p.m. Friday in the district championship game. Carney said this brings an exciting opportunity that has been rare for Paris in the past, but composure needs to be maintained.

“Last time, we turned the ball over a lot,” Carney said. “We’ve got to take care of the football and play with composure. They’re a good team so they’re going to do some things well. Hopefully, we can do some things well and do a few more things well than they do.”