By Todd Wills
Corsicana Daily Sun
CORSICANA, Texas – Navarro’s low-scoring 52-36 victory over Panola on Wednesday night suggests one of two things – the Runnin’ Bulldogs played great defense and the Ponies tried to slow the game down.
Navarro sophomore forward Aaron Turner eyes the basket in a recent game against Southwestern Christian. (Corsicana Daily Sun photo by Ron Farmer)
If that’s what you’re thinking, you’re correct.
“It was a combination of both,” Navarro coach Johnny Estelle said. “They did a good job of minimizing possessions. We had a few unforced turnovers. It was one of those games.”
Toney Foster and Princeton Onwas again provided a lot of the offense, combining for 27 points. Foster led the way with 14 points and Onwas added 13.
Estelle says Navarro (15-4, 7-1) can’t get lulled to sleep by the boredom of Wednesday’s game with an improving Paris team coming to Corsicana for a 4 p.m. tipoff Saturday at the Wolens Center.
Paris (9-10, 3-5) has some good wins this season, including one of Lamar State-Port Arthur before the semester break. Eddie Leal averages 13.3 points per game to lead the Dragons.
“They’re knocking on the door,” Estelle said. “We’re talking about a well-coached team that’s a big rival. It seemed like we played them every year in the tournament until last season
Navarro has won 12 of 13 games, so the Bulldogs are a hot team. Paris pushed its conference record up to 3-5 in conference play with a 90-88 overtime win over Bossier Parish as the Dragons snapped a three-game losing streak and seven losses over its last nine contests.
Charles Richards Charles Richards moved to Paris in 2004 after retiring from a 40-year career in journalism – the last 26 years as a news writer and sports writer with The Associated Press in Dallas and Washington, D.C. In mid-2004, The Paris News coaxed him out of retirement, and he began covering the police, court and regional beat for The Paris News. Then in early 2005, he was switched to coverage of a sharply divided Paris City Council. He was appointed by the City Council in 2006 to the 12-member City Charter Review Commission, which extensively rewrote the outmoded document. His writing awards include two first-place awards in statewide competition for feature writing. The most recent was his 2005 story on a Paris doctor’s startling use of leeches in a successful attempt to re-attach a man’s severed ear. Over his career, Richards’ interview subjects include Alabama Gov. George Wallace, President Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush, David Koresh, Arnold Palmer, Muhammad Ali and numerous other political and sports figures. He is an alumnus of Texas Tech, where he was editor of the school newspaper. He lives in Paris with his wife, Barbara, who is retired after 30 years as a teacher and high school counselor.
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