Paradise running back Luke Brown totaled 248 yards and three touchdowns in the Panthers’ 55-0 bi-district win over Breckenridge on Friday in Mineral Wells. MIKE HALL | FOR THE MESSENGER
Luke Brown and Co. paved an easy path to the area round of the 3A Division I playoffs for the No. 2 Paradise Panthers, gashing the Breckenridge Buckaroos for a 55-0 win Friday night in Mineral Wells.
The explosive Paradise running back accounted for 248 total yards and three touchdowns, including a 73-yard touchdown catch and an 87-yard touchdown run.
On the other side of the ball, Paradise (10-1, 6-0) blanked Breckenridge (4-7, 2-3) with three interceptions and held the Buckaroos to just 115 total yards in the bi-district playoff contest.
The Panthers will now face the Dalhart Wolves (9-2, 2-1) next week. Game details have yet to be announced, but expect it to be somewhere out west, as the Wolves hail from the northwest corner of the Texas Panhandle.
Breckenridge managed to keep the bi-district contest relatively close early, trailing 13-0 as the game moved into the second quarter. A string of forced turnovers and a blocked punt broke it open, and from there Brown and quarterback Ayden Olalde carved up the Buckaroos with three rushing touchdowns to take a 34-0 lead into half. From there, Paradise protected the shutout and extended the lead, rotating in players with different color helmets for playoff experience in the fourth quarter.
Olalde completed 11 of 14 passes for 173 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He had three rushing touchdowns in the win.
Brown led the team with 162 rushing yards on 12 carries. His two receptions went for 86 yards led all receivers. Layne Smith also got in on the scoring on the receiving end. Chase Harmon, another shifty speedster for the Panthers, finished with one touchdown and 103 rushing yards on 12 carries.
Up next is Dalhart, who finished second behind Shallowater in district play. The Wolves’ only other loss this season came against Perryton who placed fourth in 4A-II Region I District 2. The last time the two teams met, Paradise beat Dalhart 61-14 in an area-round matchup in Vernon in 2023.
Other local finals:
Nazarene Christian Academy 62, Victory Christian Academy 14 (game called at half)
Alvord 51, Hico 14
Jim Ned 42, Boyd 7
Decatur 63, Castleberry 14 (Thursday)
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This story will be updated as additional information becomes available.
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