TURNOVERS STING BOBCATS, LOSE OPENER TO HORNETS
The Paradise High School varsity football team finally got to open the 2021 season on Thursday night, but the Bobcats lost to visiting Enterprise High 42-28 in a game where three turnovers hurt the Bobcats’ cause.
The Bobcats’ opening drive ended inside the Hornet 11 with a fumble. On the next Paradise next drive, Tyler Harrison opened the scoring with a 26-yard touchdown run to give the Bobcats a 7-0 lead at the 1:19 mark of the first quarter.
The Hornets responded with a seven-play 74-yard drive that ended with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Demarreya LewisCooper to Holden Matthews to knot the game at 7-7 with 11:54 left in the second quarter.
On the ensuing drive, Paradise drove into Hornet territory, only to have Alan Hernandez rip the ball from the Bobcat quatrerback Braden Gonzalez and run it back 59 yards for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead with 10:11 left in the second quarter.
Paradise tried to respond, driving the ball inside the Hornet 10, only to see it end in a missed field goal. The drive was highlighted by a 28-yard pass from Gonzales to Harrison on third and 10 who made a diving catch for the first down.
Right before the half, Jahari Johnson returned a Bobcat punt 71-yards to give the Hornets a 21-7 halftime lead.
After Johnson intercepted a Gonzales pass to open the third quarter, he hauled in Lewis-Cooper’s 22-yard touchdwon throw to give the visitors a 28-7 lead with 7:15 left in the third quarter.
Daquan Lamar-Simmons scored on the ensuing drive for the Bobcats, breaking several tackles to cut the deficit to 28-14 with 3:35 left in the third quarter.
The Hornets seemed to put the game on ice when Lewis-Cooper rolled to his right on fourth down and hit Elijah Goss on an 8-yard touchdown pass for a 35-14 lead with 10:14 left in the game.
But Lamar-Simmons broke off a 58-yard touchdown run with 8:47 left to draw back to within 35-21.
After the Bobcats forced the Hornets to punt, the Bobcats finished off a 42yard drive with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Harrison from Gonzales to get within 35-28 with 2:56 left.
But on fourth and one from the Hornet 34, Lewis-Cooper broke off a 66-yard run to score and make it 42-28.
Enterprise moved to 3-0 on the year with the win.
The Bobcats will host Central Valley next week in what was supposed to be their fourth consecutive home game to open the 2021 season.