4A Team of the Week: Paris Wildcats
Paris’ defense did not back down from a challenge last Friday. The Wildcats shut out Texarkana Pleasant Grove, the number seven team in 4A Division II, in a 7-0 slobberknocker of a game.
And that lone touchdown? It came courtesy of the Paris defense as senior safety Malik Johnson scored on a 100-yard pick six. (video below)
The Wildcat offense thought it had scored late in the fourth quarter to ice the game, but the referees called it back due to a penalty. That left it up to the Paris defense to make one more stop, and fittingly, they did just that.
A year ago, Pleasant Grove beat the Wildcats 45-0. But after watching his team’s heroics on Friday, Paris head coach Steven Hohenberger said it was the biggest win for his program since they beat Melissa in the third round of the playoffs back in 2020.
In addition to Johnson, linebacker T.K. Gray also had a big night, finishing with 16 tackles and two TFLs. Offensively, Chris Houston was a workhorse out of the backfield, carrying the ball 25 times for 97 yards.
The Wildcats will now go turn their focus towards securing their first 3-0 start since 2015 this Friday when they travel to face Van Alstyne.
Previous 4A Teams of the Week
Week One: Pine Tree
