It was another lights out performance by the Paradise defense that paved the way for the Panthers’ (11-1) second consecutive shutout victory this postseason.

Paradise held Dalhart dual-threat quarterback Hunter Trusler to just 78 total yards and two interceptions Thursday night in Childress while the offense outpaced the Wolves for a 24-0 win in the 3A Division I area contest.

Paradise running back Luke Brown kicked the Panthers into gear quickly with a 56-yard rushing touchdown at the 10:16 mark in the first quarter. 

After a Beau Chenevert sack on Trusler forced a Dalhart punt, running back Chase Harmon capped off the ensuing drive with a 4-yard rushing touchdown before the first quarter expired.

Bryce Chipman tacked on a field goal for Paradise in the second quarter to take a 17-0 lead into the half. 

The Wolves held Paradise to just one touchdown in the second half (5-yard Brown run), but couldn’t move the ball at all against the Panthers defense.

Miles Godwin recorded two fourth quarter sacks and Cash Lander intercepted Trusler in the final frame to sign off on Paradise’s impressive defensive performance.

Paradise will play the winner of Jim Ned/Bushland in the region semifinals. Game details will be published when announced.

Here are our key takeaways from Paradise’s 24-0 win against Dalhart:

Key takeaways

Defense wins (area) championships

Every defensive player for Paradise seemed to have a knack for finding the Dalhart ball carriers Thursday, especially the Wolves signal-caller.

Through the first 11 games of play this season, Trusler threw for 2,160 yards and 25 touchdowns and added 1,184 yards rushing and 17 scores on the ground. The Panthers rendered him nearly useless.

Linebackers Miles Godwin, Cash Watson and Teagan Lambert all had the chance to tee off on the Dalhart quarterback and secured multiple sacks and tackles for loss for the Paradise linebacking corps. The Paradise defensive line also collapsed the inside running lanes, and Beau Chenevert even got home for a sack against the speedy Trusler.

Since August, Paradise has shown defense would be its strength. It proved to be true again even with high stakes.

Balanced offense shows out

Paradise had nearly even splits between its ground and air attack, with the rushers combining for 204 yards on the ground and quarterback Ayden Olalde throwing for 208.

Luke Brown carried the ball 16 times for 91 yards and two touchdowns, and Chase Harmon 11 times for 70 yards and a score.

While the Panthers couldn’t get a receiver in the end zone, Olalde still landed chunk plays on passes to Logan Lampley and Layne Smith, with the latter catching three for 85 yards.

Paradise needs to finish drives

While a 24-0 playoff shutout looks impressive on paper, the Panthers should have doubled the score.

Paradise’s offense stalled out at the 2, 8 and 23-yard line after big offensive plays marched the team down the field. Settling for field goals and turning the ball over on downs deep in your opponent’s territory will only get you so far in playoffs.

But, like coach Tommy Koch said after the game, wins will always be celebrated.

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