Featured photo caption: Casey-Westfield’s Gio Santillan powers through the Paris defense for a gain. Santillan recorded two key first downs on the ground during a Warrior drive in the third quarter. —photo by Terri Cox

By Terri Cox | Sports Reporter

PARIS – On their Senior Night, the Paris Tigers capitalized on a second-half surge, scoring in the final minute of regulation to claim a 22-17 upset victory over the Casey-Westfield Warriors in Friday’s regular-season finale. The Warriors started strong but faltered in the second half as Paris mounted its comeback to solidify its playoff hopes.

Casey-Westfield received the opening kickoff, and a strong return by Jack Julius set up the offense at their own 45-yard line. Just eight plays later, Nolan Clement followed his offensive line across the goal line from one yard out for the first score of the night. Wyatt Erickson’s PAT gave the Warriors an early 7-0 lead.

After forcing Paris into a three-and-out, another solid return by Julius again gave Casey-Westfield excellent field position. A big run by Nick Fouty moved the Warriors into Paris territory, and a promising gain by Kellen Sullivan was unfortunately negated by a holding penalty. Though Casey-Westfield regained most of the yardage, the drive stalled, and the Warriors faced a 4th-and-4 on the Paris 11-yard line. Erickson converted the 28-yard field goal, extending the lead to 10-0.

Paris’s next drive lasted only one play, as Clement intercepted a pass and returned it 10 yards to give the Warriors possession as the first quarter wound down.

Casey-Westfield marched down the field and, on the first play of the second quarter, Clement looked for Julius in the endzone. The pass was intercepted on a controversial play where significant contact with Julius appeared to be pass interference but went uncalled.

Starting from their own 20-yard line, the Tigers broke a huge run that put them deep into Warrior territory. A big solo tackle for a loss by Will Moore temporarily slowed the drive, and on the next play, Jett Self knocked the ball loose. However, the Tigers recovered and gained significant yardage. Paris continued to grind out the drive, eventually scoring on a four-yard run. A successful two-point conversion run narrowed the score to 10-8.

The Warriors answered just two plays later. Clement dropped back to pass and, finding no open receivers, scrambled through a seam in the defense and rumbled 67 yards for a touchdown. Erickson’s successful PAT pushed the Casey-Westfield advantage to 17-8, a lead they would hold into halftime.

The momentum shifted after the intermission. Paris received the ball to open the third quarter and assembled a 16-play drive, punctuated by a 25-yard touchdown pass on a critical 4th-and-20 situation. The subsequent conversion attempt failed, but the Tiger deficit was cut to 17-14.

The Warriors began their next drive on their own 29-yard line and rattled off three consecutive first downs—two on runs by Gio Santillan and one by Luke Karras. But a pair of runs for a loss and an incompletion forced a turnover on downs to start the fourth quarter.

Paris took over on their own 24-yard line but was forced to punt four plays later. Casey-Westfield regained possession and earned back-to-back first downs on runs from Karras. Three plays later, however, a sack by the Paris defense put the Warriors in a 4th-and-23 situation, forcing a punt.

Starting on their own 36-yard line, the Tigers began a methodical, clock-consuming drive. Ten plays later, Paris pushed across the goal line from four yards out for the go-ahead score. A successful two-point conversion run gave the Tigers a 22-17 lead with under a minute left to play.

The Warriors’ final drive started at their own 35-yard line but was cut short by an interception, allowing the Tigers to run out the clock and seal the upset victory.

With the loss, the Warriors fall to 7-2 on the season but had already secured an IHSA 1A Playoff berth. The playoff pairings were released, and Casey-Westfield will host Red Hill on Saturday, November 1, at Sinclair-Vidoni Field. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. Per IHSA rules, ticket prices for playoff games are set at $8 per person, and no passes will be accepted.

Quarterback Nolan Clement pitches the ball to Luke Karras on an option play against Paris. Clement scored two rushing touchdowns, and Karras added 49 yards on the ground for the Warriors. —photo by Terri Cox

Warrior running back Kellen Sullivan jukes past a Paris defender during Friday’s game. Sullivan contributed 52 yards on five carries for the Casey-Westfield offense. —photo by Terri Cox

Jett Self and Fred Thomas converge on a Paris runner for a tackle. Self finished the game with nine tackles and a forced fumble for the Warrior defense. —photo by Terri Cox

Luke Karras and Fred Thomas combine to bring down a Paris ball carrier. Karras led the Warriors with 15 tackles, while Thomas recorded seven tackles and two sacks in Friday night’s regular-season finale. —photo by Terri Cox