‘Small town …big family’: Paris’ football pride is on full display in 2-0 start

Brandon Smith-Santiago wasn’t born and raised in Paris, but it has been his football home much longer than his quarterback and head coach.

Guy Turner moved to town over the summer. Paris High School is the third secondary school for whom he’s suited up in less than three years. He was part of Boyle County’s football program each of the last two seasons before enrolling at Christian Academy of Louisville, where he played for the basketball team beginning in mid-December.

Dane Damron hasn’t been around too much longer. The former head coach at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise was hired in February following the abrupt departure of four-year head coach Tyquan Rice, who took the reins at rival Bourbon County High School.

Several of Paris’ would-be returning starters from a team that last year hung with eventual Class A champion Sayre in the playoffs followed Rice down the street. Smith-Santiago, who scored eight touchdowns in 2024, was among those who stayed in orange and black.

“I just felt like it wasn’t the move for me,” Smith-Santiago said. “I had faith in my new coach and faith in our team, that we were gonna be a quality team.”

Asked if that faith had been validated through the first two weeks of the season: “Yes. For sure.”

It’d be difficult not to feel like that after a 2-0 start, but the Greyhounds’ resolve was challenged in week two. Following a 56-0 thumping of Frankfort in the capital city, Paris seemed well on its way to another runaway win at halftime against Williamsburg on Friday. The Greyhounds might’ve put the running clock into effect before intermission had they had 15 more seconds with which to work, but they settled for a 30-0 halftime lead.

It wasn’t enough. Paris held on for a 36-32 victory over the Yellow Jackets, who recovered to leave the result in doubt until the final minute. On fourth-and-2 from Williamsburg’s 45-yard line with 1:20 left, Turner backpedaled against a blitz and found RaZamadi Bell in the flat; Bell evaded a well-placed defender before trotting down the sideline for a healthy — and game-sealing — gain.

“It took everything out of us,” Smith-Santiago said. “And more.”

Finding a home with the Paris Greyhounds

Damron was UVA-Wise’s head coach for eight years before resigning after the 2023 season. Before that he spent seven years as an assistant at Eastern Kentucky University.

The former Georgetown College quarterback — Damron led the Tigers to the 1991 NAIA national championship — hadn’t coached high school football since a four-year stint at Boyd County High School from 2002-05. Paris’ opening presented an opportunity to reengage with coaching while remaining in central Kentucky; his son, Derek, is a football player and transferred from UVA-Wise to Georgetown College ahead of the 2024 school year.

“I was redshirting. I took a year off and it was good for me to do that,” Damron said. “I got to spend a lot of time with my wife. Delisha, she’s my rock, she’s moved all over God’s creation for me to chase this career.”

He’s now skippering a Class A team with resources that many in Class 6A would covet: a freshly renovated stadium, a state-of-the-art field house and, most importantly, a fan base deeply rooted in its city. Paris might not have as many state title trophies or prep-to-pro superstars as programs like Boyle County and Trinity, but its supporters are just as proud.

“Paris is a special place and they’ve welcomed me with open arms,” Damron said. “It was a good year off but I’m excited to be here now.”

Turner has a state championship to show for all his travels. He played in seven games during Boyle County’s Class 4A title run in 2023, his freshman year. He appeared in 12 more last season, including the Rebels’ state quarterfinal loss to Covington Catholic, which ended a streak of four straight championships.

“I’ve been around a few places for sure,” said Turner, who was familiar with Paris through an aunt and uncle, both residents. “What made me want to stick it out here and really figure it out was all the fans. The community is so close.

“I’ll be honest: I’ve been here four weeks, I shouldn’t be told by (other people’s) parents that they love me and this and that. It’s a surreal deal, I feel right where I’m at. It’s something I look forward to waking up to every day.”

Smith-Santiago, who moved from Lexington when he was in middle school, summed it up nicely.

“It’s a small town, but it’s a big family.”

Paris-Williamsburg has rematch potential

Williamsburg was inches away from potentially spoiling the first entry in Paris’ four-game homestand.

“You can’t be mad about how hard we played in the second half,” Yellow Jackets head coach Jerry Herron said. “… We outscored ’em 32-6 in the second half. We just gave ’em too much. The kids fought hard. They weren’t laying over the field, they were giving us effort the entire time. I did a bad job coaching them in the first half: I didn’t get them ready to play and it showed.”

Smith-Santiago scored Paris’ only second-half touchdown with 6:12 to play, not long after Williamsburg cut the lead to 30-26 and then failed to capitalize on a go-ahead drive. It was his third TD on the night — he returned an interception 65 yards for his first and later ran for a 57-yarder — en route to event-MVP honors. (The showdown was also Paris’ Hall of Fame Game, played annually since 1985 and during which all present members of the school’s athletic Hall of Fame are recognized.)

Reece Hatcher during the postgame ceremony was honored for his effort, too. The Williamsburg sophomore threw five touchdowns — four to senior receiver Peyton Hamilton — to keep his Yellow Jackets in a contest that appeared over after 24 minutes of play.

“We’ve just gotta play the whole game like we played the second half,” Hatcher said. “I don’t think there are many teams that can beat us if we play like that.”

In the Herald-Leader’s preseason poll of Class A coaches, Williamsburg ranked No. 8 overall while Paris rounded out the top 10. Both squads Friday proved worthy of their preseason placement. A lot can happen between Labor Day and November, but football fans in Kentucky could do much worse than seeing them square off again.

“We’re a great team,” Smith-Santiago said. “We may not have 40, 50 people on our sideline, but we have dogs that are willing to play all game and fight.”