Paris’ motto:
By Lance Lysowski
Staff writer
llysowski@observer-reporter.com
Avella senior quarterback Santino Paris sat in his bedroom last Thursday night, shut off his cell phone and got to work. He watched game and practice film for hours and took notes. First, it was analyzing his footwork, mechanics and mistakes during a Week 1 loss at Frazier where he left early with an injury.
Then it was time to prepare for a Friday night game against California, a second straight Tri-County South rival. A three-year starter for the Eagles and the first quarterback to lead Avella to the playoffs since 1976, Paris has developed an analytical sense of dissecting opposing defenses.
When watching film on Cal, Paris found a weakness in the Trojans’ defense that he planned to exploit. When offenses lined up in a spread formation with three wide receivers, Cal did not adjust its outside linebackers to the inside slot receiver – leaving him wide open.
And he had an extra day to prepare.
An error by a conference referee assigner caused the game to be delayed until Saturday night, but it did not alter Paris’ game plan. He completed 10 of 14 passes for 277 yards, threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more as Avella (1-1, 1-1) defeated the Trojans, 33-24.
“It was a big relief. I definitely had some pressure coming on me. The whole week, I was just trying to keep my mind free of things and just focus on football,” Paris said. “We wanted to redeem ourselves. The past two years, we started off 5-0 both years. It wasn’t normal for us to be losing our first game.”
While the loss to Frazier in Week 1 capped a tumultuous few days, it was microscopic compared to what Paris experienced the day before the season opener. His grandmother, Carrie Wood Paris, passed away Aug. 28 at the age of 80.
Along with coming to grips with the loss of a loved one, Paris was tasked with facing one of the top teams in the Tri-County South.
“It is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” Paris said. “It was really hard thinking she was gone, but I wanted to play for her, and I knew she would be watching over me during that game, too.”
Avella trailed early and at the end of the first quarter, Paris punted to Frazier on fourth down. As the lone man back, he ran to tackle the returner when he aggravated a knee injury suffered earlier in the week.
Paris missed the rest of the game and was forced to watch as Frazier walked away with a 43-0 victory. It was the first time Avella was shut out since Oct. 14, 2011.
“It was really painful. I couldn’t walk on it during the second half so I was pretty nervous,” Paris said. “The next day, it felt a little bit better, and I went to get it checked out. There was nothing major, so I was very happy about that.”
Playing on a sprained knee did not deter him. Not much has since Paris became the starting quarterback as a sophomore with less than two years of experience playing the position. In youth football, he was a right guard and in seventh grade, was switched to fullback.
He grew seven inches during the summer of 2009 and was switched to quarterback as an eighth-grader. A hard-throwing pitcher in baseball, using his right arm to throw a football with precision was no different. Avella head coach Ryan Cecchini was an assistant on the middle school team when Paris first played quarterback.
He has watched as Paris grabbed the starting job, earned the respect of his teammates and eventually led Avella to a remarkable accomplishment. The smallest school in WPIAL’s Class A with a roster of 20-25 players made the playoffs last season behind Paris’ 1,246 passing yards, 16 touchdown passes and three rushing TDs.
“You don’t come across kids like him who can throw the ball like that very often, let alone at a small school like ours,” Cecchini said. “To have a leader like him means everything to our team. Even just the way he throws the ball. It’s precision accuracy, and he throws with intent every time. He knows where he wants to go when he’s in the zone with it.”
It was not always smooth for Paris. When he entered high school, his mechanics were a mess, and he stood on the sidelines as Avella went 0-9. Since then, the Eagles are 13-8 with Paris under center and broke the WPIAL’s longest playoff drought of 37 years.
Paris remembers being a wide-eyed sophomore trying to earn the respect of juniors and seniors. Learning the playbook like the back of his hand and delivering instructions to teammates with authority helped him achieve that. His weekly ritual of film study in his bedroom is where it all began.
“It’s been a great experience for me,” Paris said. “I absolutely love the position. There’s not another position I’d want to play. It’s tough though. You have to be a leader, be the bigger man on the field and you have to be a general out there.”
Division II programs have been contacting Paris to play football and baseball. He plans on majoring in sports medicine or biochemical engineering, but before he maps out his future beyond the small village of Avella, the 6-1 senior has his sights set on another postseason berth.
“We understand there is pressure on us from last year that we should be one of the better teams in the conference, but we just have to clear that from our minds,” Paris said. “We can’t think about that pressure and have to just play football the way we know how to. All we can do is give it 110 percent every week, win football games and try to make it back to the playoffs.”