It’s difficult to beat a good team twice, and Paradise learned that the hard way Friday in Springtown against Peaster.
The Greyhounds (13-1) knocked out the Panthers in the 3A Division I Region I Final, perfecting an 80-yard 2-minute drill with their backs against the wall to escape Porcupine Stadium 17-14 and move to the state semifinals.
Paradise ended its season at 12-2 after dropping the District 4-3AI rematch in heartbreaking fashion.
While Peaster quarterback Luke Gray saved his team’s season two separate times late with his arm — including a 63-yard bomb to set up Mark Tullous’ game-winning rushing touchdown — Paradise coach Tommy Koch said the game was not lost on just one play.
“The loss is fully on me. There’s no one play where one kid didn’t do something that you can point to,” Koch said. “Our kids played their butts off. I have to do a better job, especially late in game, and put our guys in better position. This is on me.”
Peaster was able to muscle its way to a 10-7 lead at halftime on a back-breaking defense and rushing attack, but Paradise stayed on the Greyhounds’ heels.
Peaster turned to Mark Tullous in the wildcat formation in the middle of the first quarter and let the receiver run loose several times on a 79-yard drive where he capped it off on a 4-yard rushing touchdown. Paradise evened things up at the 6:17 mark in the second quarter, benefiting from a shanked Peaster punt and letting quarterback Ayden Olalde keep the ball for a goal line score.
Cade McCollough booted a 32-yard field goal for the Greyhounds with a minute to go in the first half, then picked off Olalde’s shot to the end zone to seal the first half.
Out of the haltime break, it was a battle of two elite defenses — one that had only allowed 3 points in the playoffs (Peaster) and the other just 7 (Paradise).
The teams traded a couple of punts each to drain the third quarter clock, but Paradise finally found an edge early in the fourth.
After breaking into the red zone and immediately moving backwards to the Peaster 25, Olalde connected with receiver Layne Smith to erase the negative play — a 25-yard touchdown on third and 17 with 8:28 to go to build up a 14-10 lead.
On Peaster’s ensuing drive, the Panthers turned in a three-and-out stand to shift all of the energy from Peaster’s crowd to the Panthers’ side of the field.
“Our senior leadership was excellent there. Great men, great leaders on and off the field, and they showed why,” Koch said. “They made huge plays to put us in a position to win. So proud of them.”
Paradise knocked four minutes off the clock after the defensive stand before punting away with 2:54 to go. But even after Paradise defenders Teagan Lambert and Beau Chenevert dropped Gray for back-to-back sacks when Peaster took back possession late, there was too much time left for the quarterback and his host of playmakers.
On third and 21 from his 9-yard line, Gray found Tullous over the middle for a first down reception. Then he blew the top off of Porcupine Stadium.
Gray unleashed his cannon arm for the play of the night — a 63-yard air strike to none other than the Peaster Swiss Army Knife in McCollough. On third and goal from the 1, the Greyhounds drew Paradise into a defensive penalty to move the ball an inch away from the goal line, where Tullous lined up at quarterback and used his devastating legs to take back the Peaster lead on a short rushing touchdown.
Peaster held on for the last 11 seconds to keep Paradise from stealing the win on a shot to the end zone.
“That’s a team that only gave up 3 points in the playoffs. Just excellent defense from them. There was some small areas that we thought we could take advantage of watching film, and our kids truly did a good job of executing the game plan,” Koch said. “But had them in third and 20 and they end up converting, then they had a really big play at the end there. That really was the game there, so that’s tough. It’s really all on me.”
Koch praised the on- and off-field work of his senior players after the game. He said they turned into eighth graders that only won two games to a group that became serious contenders for state championships.
“They have come a long, long way. And that’s a credit to the hard work they’ve put in,” Koch said. “They’ve allowed us to mold them into men of God — into high-character men. There’s only 12 of them, but that’s a great group of men who have accomplished a lot in their high school tenure. It’s going to be tough to lose them and it will sting for a while, but I couldn’t be more proud of what they’ve done.”
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