Paradise defeats Las Plumas to move to 2-0

Harrison, Wagner each score twice in Bobcat win

After seeing last week’s game at East Nicolaus canceled due to COVID-19, the Paradise High school football team was able to get back on the field Friday night against the Las Plumas Thunderbirds.

The Thunderbirds themselves were supposed to play Orland on Friday night but COVID-19 forced the cancellation of that game, and that put the Bobcats on LP’s schedule.

The Bobcats were able to use their dynamic running game behind Tyler Harrison and Austin Wagner to beat the hosts in Oroville 57- 6.

Both Harrison and Wagoner scored two touchdowns in the first half to propel the Bobcats to the victory.

Paradise is 2- 0 and will play at Pierce High School in Arbuckle next Friday night.

The scoring started in the first half. Harrison capped off a 63-yard Bobcat drive with a 5-yard touchdown run, giving Paradise a 7- 0 lead at the 11:08 mark of the first quarter.

However, the Thunderbirds scored on their first drive, converting a fourth and 16 with a nice touchdown pass from quarterback Riley Roulette to wide receiver Jacob Stroud.

But the Bobcats put together a 12-play, 61-yard drive that quarterback Braden Gonzales converted into a touchdown with a 5-yard run at the 2:12 mark of the first quarter to give Paradise a 14-6 lead.

Paradise extended its lead to 22-6 with 4:48 left in the first half when Harrison broke a couple of tackles and scored on an 18-yard run.

Ashton Wagner added the two-point conversion on a run. He would later score on a 12-yard run at the 1:51 mark of the second quarter to push the Bobcat lead to 29- 6.

Wagoner’s touchdown was set up by a Bobcat blocked punt. After the Bobcats recovered an onside kick, Wagoner would score from 1 yard out to cap off a six-play, 54-yard drive.

That gave the Bobcats a 36-6 lead going into halftime.

Daquan Lamar Simmons scored on a 1-yard TD run while Tommy Davis returned an interception 35 yards to give the Bobcats a 50- 6 lead midway through the third quarter.

Paradise’s Jose Vasquez capped the scoring with a 1-yard TD run for the Bobcats with four minutes remaining.

Most of the second half was played with a running clock.