Paris lost its third straight game at home to Westran but lost so much more Friday night.

In their 46-8 loss to their Lewis and Clark Conference foe, the Coyotes witnessed Colton Kendrick being removed soon after halftime when they were already down 20-0. Payden Crane scored his first career varsity touchdown on a 12-yard pass with four minutes left in the third quarter, but the Hornets (2-3, 1-1 L&C) had too much of an advantage.

Gatlin Fountain finished with 13 solo tackles, Clayton Duncan had three fumble recoveries as part of five turnovers forced by the Coyotes’ defense, and Paris was positive in the turnover differential for the first time this season.

“We played great on defense,” head coach and Westran graduate Joseph Utterback said. “That’s just a continuation of where we’ve been at. Our defense is really, really solid.”

Still, Paris’s offense that averages 13 points per game didn’t have an easy night with Westran’s defensive line, specifically reigning conference defensive player of the year and all-state player Langden Kitchen. He had two touchdown runs, including a 22-yard one, and also jumped in front of a screen pass before returning it for a touchdown, Utterback said. He and his teammates on the line played a part in limiting the Coyotes to four rushing yards and 117 yards of total offense.

If Kitchen has plans of playing at the next level, Utterback is confident he’ll be able to as he disrupted the Coyotes’ offense all night.

“He made a huge difference,” Utterback said. “We had a hard time blocking him up front. He’s pretty incredible. He was a load to handle, and they’ve got some solid pieces there (on the defensive line).”

Utterback said Paris’ offense and defense “revolve around” him and are hoping for good news from the pending X-rays. For now, Utterback said the team can wish Kendrick “all our thoughts and prayers” and look to guys like the freshman Crane, who the team had faith in prior to the injury, 6-foot-7 Alex Williams, who was drawing double and triple teams Friday, and Hunter Hartgrove, who made a few nice catches including the two-point conversion after Crane’s touchdown.

“He’s such an athlete, so offensively, we really try to get him the ball out in space,” Utterback said. “He’s our slot receiver so he motions all over the field. He does all kinds of stuff for us, so that will be a hard role to fill. We’ll have to take a look at doing some things differently.

“(Crane) is going to be one of those kids we take a good, hard look at, and he’ll have to step up more,” Utterback said. “We’ve got several that are like that. (The senior Hartgrove) had his first varsity start and he got to run out on the field and be part of that. That meant a lot to him because he grew up watching those guys run out there on the field.”

Paris (1-4, 0-3 L&C) plays at Fayette (3-2, 2-1 L&C), who lost 14-12 at Marceline in Week 5.