By Brian Knox | Published Sunday, October 11, 2009
Paradise did a lot of things right in their district showdown in Jacksboro Friday night, but it was the things they didn't do right - namely three costly turnovers - that proved too much for the Panthers to overcome in a 39-27 loss.
After falling behind by two touchdowns late in the third quarter, Paradise mounted a comeback. Trailing 27-14, Jonathan Lee scored for the Panthers on a 6-yard run, and Jarrett Roper's kick cut the lead to 27-21 with 2:57 left in the third. Paradise tied the score with 8:45 left in the game when Lee scored again, this time on a 17-yard run. A missed point-after try, though, could not give the Panthers the lead.
After Jacksboro got the ball off an interception, the Tigers' Brandon Little scored on a 35-yard run with 1:43 left in the game. The 2-point conversion failed, giving Jacksboro a 33-27 lead.
Paradise still had a chance to tie or take the lead, but the hopes vanished when Jacksboro intercepted another pass. Casey Pierce scored on a 31-yard run for the Tigers to provide the final margin of victory.
The game went back and forth in the first half. After falling behind 7-0, Paradise scored 14 unanswered points to take the lead. Braiden Black caught a 29-yard pass from Taylor Goforth for the first score with 3:04 left in the first quarter, and Lee caught a 60-yard pass from Goforth with 7:20 remaining in the second quarter. The successful point-after kicks by Jarrett Roper gave the Panthers a 14-7 lead.
Jacksboro would score the next three touchdowns, however, to open up their biggest lead of the game. The score that gave the Tigers the 27-14 lead was a 67-yard fumble recovery by Little.
Paradise rolled up 413 total yards of offense compared to 327 for Jacksboro. Lee rushed 30 times for a game-high 221 yards. Weldon led Jacksboro with 142 yards rushing and 118 yards passing.
Paradise dropped to 0-6 for the year and 0-1 in district play. They will travel to Chico Friday.
Story by Brian Knox from game information provided by Robert Johnson.
