Paris High School Spring teams in full swing

Paris District High School Girls Rugby team pulled out a season opener win of 17-7 against St. John's on April 30th.

By George Le Gresley

Girls Rugby

Spring has sprung, at least on most days, and Paris High’s athletes are back on the field! This season, there are lots of games, and in soccer and boys' lacrosse, there are plenty of double-header games. To date, I have had the opportunity to watch two teams, and by far, the best team in Paris is the Girls' rugby team. 

The Panther young ladies definitely have a goal to qualify for CWOSSA, where last year, they were bounced out of the regional tournament. Many of last year’s team leaders have moved on and this year is a younger team. The team’s coaching staff of Dave McLean and Jason Murchie are on the sidelines, continually coaching the players on the fundamentals of tackling, reminding them of the role they have for performing their positions and keeping all the players, be it on the bench or on the field, focused on their game plan and team spirit.

Leadership comes from a 4th-year player and future Laurier student, Hailey Holgate, who, in their game last Wednesday, was chosen by their peers as one of the players of the game versus St. John’s. In the first half of the game, the Panthers' defence didn’t allow the St. John’s offence to cross the center field.  First half scoring was tries from Faith Smith and Naddie Beaudin and a 10-0 lead. 

In the second half, St. John’s Sierra Thomson scored and the point after was made to narrow Paris’ lead to 10-7. St. John’s did get close to the Paris goal line several times, only to be pushed back from any scoring opportunities. In the end, Hailey Holgate scored the game's final try and followed up by kicking a successful convert, with the final score being a 17-7 win. 

Boys Soccer

This year’s team has a positive start and is currently in second place, four points behind St. John's, the North Division leaders. 

The season started with a loss, playing St. John’s. On April 23rd, with the first game of a doubleheader, they tied Caledonia’s McKinnon Park Secondary at 1 goal each, with Caleb McIntosh credited with the goal. The second game was a 2-1 win over Brantford Collegiate, with Ryan Peason scoring both goals. On April 28, Paris faced Pauline Johnson and ended a 0-0 tie. The season finale for the Paris side will be on May 1 against Assumption College.

Girls Soccer

The girls haven’t had an easy start, losing their first game. However, last week tied Pauline Johnson at 1 goal each.

Boys Lacrosse

The Panthers began the season with a doubleheader and took a loss in the first game against BCI, 13-5. The bottom half of the double header was a 10-4 victory against Hagersville S.S.