El Dorado Surprises Paramount : DIVISION II

El Dorado Coach Rick Jones tried to approach Friday’s Division II playoff against Paramount as just another game. Never mind that he graduated from Paramount in 1977 or that he was the most valuable player on the team on which current Paramount Coach Ken Sutch was an assistant.

El Dorado jumped to a 21-0 halftime lead, then held Paramount on fourth and one at the Hawks’ 14 with 23 seconds left to secure the 21-16 upset. El Dorado (6-5) was the third-place team from the Empire League and Paramount (10-1) was the winner of the San Gabriel Valley League and the fourth-seeded team in the division.

In the next round, the Hawks play Fountain Valley, a 34-28 winner over Pasadena Muir.

El Dorado scored on all three possessions in the first half, gaining 237 yards. The first score came two plays into the game. Alex Molnar ran 54 yards off tackle for the touchdown.

Paramount then turned the ball over on downs at the El Dorado 24. The Hawks then drove 76 yards in 18 plays, scoring when Dan Rogers threw two yards to Kevin Haynes with 6:15 left in the half.

The Hawks opened a 21-0 lead when they marched 77 yards in eight plays. This time Rogers threw three yards to Haynes with 14 seconds left in the half. Spencer Frost kicked his third extra-point.

Paramount came right back in the second half. The Pirates went 65 yards in 16 plays after the kick-off and scored when Michael Fletcher dived one yard.

The Pirates scored again after a fumble recovery at the El Dorado 32. Fletcher scored on a three-yard run on fourth down with 11 seconds left in the third quarter. Paramount then went for two, but failed and trailed, 21-13.

Paramount cut the lead to, 21-16, on a 37-yard field goal by Rafael Villasenor with 7:43 left to play. The score was set up by a Paramount fumble recovery at the El Dorado 17.

Paramount started its final drive at its own 39 with 4:22 remaining. The Pirates got as close as the El Dorado 14. But on fourth-and-one, Fletcher rolled out to pass but with pressure from El Dorado’s Terry Williams, his pass near the goal line was high and fell incomplete.