When schools in your district refuse to schedule you during the season, your Athletic Director has no chance other than to jump up a district. For the 4th time in 5 weeks Paradise jumped up a district to host who was the .500 incoming Krum Bobcats. Last time against a 4A school – Paradise was out-sized against the Graham Steer in their first loss of the season. When I spoke with HC Tommy Koch pre-game he said, “That’s something we’re used to. We prepare for that, and a lot of the time, we can out physical our opponents regardless.” That’s what it looked like this past Friday against Krum.
THE BALLGAME:
We’ve had some good ones so far this year. A thriller in W2 in Godley, backed up by a great one hosting Graham, but this one might be the ‘crème of the crop’. It started with a battle of QB’s grinding out long, welll-oiled drives of football that would, frustratingly, seem to fizzle out deep into opponents territory. The 1st Q was big of “no-man’s’ land, where both teams would have to decide to either go for a 4th-and-medium or punt it away. Mid-way through the 1st Q Krum’s QB Casen Payne found who would be a thorn-in-the-rear of the Paradise Panthers of Braylon Distascio a 6-foot-7 WR who scored the games first TD on a 12-yard reception. On the following drive Olalde would punch it in from the 2-yd line to even the scoring. 7-7.
With 66 ticks left in the first period of play, Krum goes 60 yards down the offsetting dark and light green field of Paradise to find another star WR for a 15-yd TD reception. 14-7 bad guys.
Both go scoreless in the 2nd. Skip ahead to the third Q? Let’s do it.
Touchdown Panthers. Punt. Touchdown Panthers. 21-14. Paradise has the lead for the first. It started with Oladle finding his man Elijah Jennings for 21 yards and 6 points. That’s Jennings 4th TD in 2 games. Then on a what would I would describe a Houdini act, Camden Walker returned a sh*nked (That’s the s word you should never say in sports) punt for the 39-yard line running it back to the end zone. It was weird, Jennings was back at the 50 ready to return the kick as he typically does. When Walker caught it, he stood still for about 5-seconds and just about everyone was walking off the field, then he took it 39-yards to the house. 21-14.
Krum goes down and scores late in the 3rd. Then again mid-way through the 4th. Wonderful. 28-21.
Paradise with the ball in hand with 3:30 go 4-and-out to give it back to Krum with the ball back on Paradise’s own 35. Trouble. An unbelievable defensive stand from Paradise and Drew Staley with a 12-yard sack on 3rd down gave the Panthers the ball back with 1:12. They go all the way down the 21 before it’s time for Mr. Chase Harmon. Who else. 21-yard house call to make it a 1-point game. The Paradise offense immediately stays out and lines up for two, timeout Krum. They come back out and run a Philly special for lead where Jennings leaves it 1-inch short of the hands of Olalde wide open in the end zone to win the game. Final, 28-17. I asked HC Tommy Koch postgame about the decision to go for two: “No regrets. If I’d do it again, I’d do the same thing. The play was there.” In fairness, it was there. Close, close, close, no cigar. ‘Twas a thriller, in every aspect.
It’s a bye week this week. Then to district. Talk to you in 2 weeks. Paradise 3-2. Take care, bye now.