High-caliber 44

Senior safety led defense to historic season

Benton’s Stone Paul, right, tackles Pine Bluff’s Romar Reades during the Class 6A state championship game. Paul is the Tri-Lakes Edition Defensive Player of the Year.
Benton’s Stone Paul, right, tackles Pine Bluff’s Romar Reades during the Class 6A state championship game. Paul is the Tri-Lakes Edition Defensive Player of the Year.

BENTON — When the Benton Panthers’ athletic director, Randy McFarlin, first saw Stone Paul on the practice field working at safety in preseason drills, head coach Scott Neathery said McFarlin asked him how he was going to anchor a secondary around a kid who was 5-11 and 190 pounds.

With his playmaking ability and toughness, Paul has made a believer out of McFarlin — and everyone else — and has been named the Tri-Lakes Edition Defensive Player of the Year.

“He’s not overly fast, but he makes plays,” Neathery said of his senior safety.

Paul registered 102 tackles this season, second-best on the team, and intercepted 10 passes, returning three for touchdowns.

No pick-six was bigger than in Week 9 in a home game against El Dorado.

The Wildcats were driving late in the fourth quarter, determined to erase a 23-7 deficit. Momentum belonged to El Dorado.

“They were at about the 10-yard line,” Neathery said, “and their quarterback dropped back and threw it into the end zone.”

But Wildcats’ quarterback Kawon Love didn’t connect with his receiver this time. Instead, Paul made his move, intercepted the ball 2 yards deep and ran it all the way back for a Benton touchdown.

“Huge clutch plays like that are what [Paul] did all year long,” Neathery said.

“It was senior night, our last home game,” Paul said. “It was already an emotional year. I sat back and waited, and the pass crossed my face. All I could think was, ‘Did he really just throw this?’ I didn’t think I was going to make it all the way. I was exhausted.”

A downfield block by Brandon Black paved the way for Paul and sealed another win for the Panthers.

Paul not only has the admiration and trust of his coaches, but also the respect of his teammates, including quarterback Cason Maertens.

“He’s the definition of a Benton Panther football player,” Maertens said of Paul. “Great leader. He taught me so much. He’s one of the greatest leaders I have ever been around. He’d get everybody focused for the game, everybody focused for practice. He was the guy that wanted to get everybody fired up.”

There’s no doubt about Paul’s toughness, and he showed it in a big way during the state championship game.

During the contest’s second series, Paul caused a fumble. After Benton gained possession of the ball, Neathery said Paul came to the sidelines with a dislocated pinkie finger.

“I guess when I punched at the ball, I didn’t make a fist in time, so my pinkie was still exposed,” Paul said.

Amid celebrating, Paul said, he noticed that his left hand was numb.

“While I’m jumping around, I looked down at it and saw [my finger] was crooked,” Paul said. “I knew it was dislocated, I just didn’t know how bad. I pulled off my glove, and the blood just poured out.”

Defensive coordinator Brad Harris came to Neathery and said Drew Harris was needed to replace Paul on the next series.

Not only was Paul’s finger pointing in the wrong direction, but the bottom part of the bone had broken through the skin, forming a T-shape.

“I’m thinking, ‘Stone is out,’” Neathery said. “I go over there, and he’s with our trainers and the doctors, looking at me and smiling with this bone out and says, ‘It’s all right coach. We are gonna get ready to play.’ I could not believe it,” the coach said.

“The only thing I was worried about was the game,” Paul said. “I knew I just had to get [my finger] back in place and get back in, because I wasn’t going to go out like that. I was hoping it would spark the team,” he said.

“I said, “Holy cow, look at your finger, bro,’” Maertens said. “He told us he didn’t feel it until after the game. He’s a competitor, and he wouldn’t have come out of that game for anything.”

Doctors stitched Paul’s wound at halftime, and he continued to play, missing but one series immediately after the injury.

“We’ve got tough guys,” Neathery said. “I’ve been saying for five years that tough times don’t last, but tough guys do.”

Paul is definitely counted as one that lasted, and as Neathery said, “He set the curve.”

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