PARADISE, CA (MPG) - The drive up to Paradise from the valley brings with it a lot of emotions as there are still reminders of the devastation left over from the Camp Fire that took place in November of 2018. The town has come a long way with efforts to restore what was, but the destruction is still very evident. The spirit of the community lives on, and high school football has a way of bringing people closer together as a means to heal for players, cheerleaders, coaches, and fans.

On Friday, September 6th, Gridley High School JV and varsity football opened their season on the road against the Paradise Bobcats. Both Paradise JV and varsity teams entered the evening with 2-0 records, having wins against Williams and East Nicolaus in previous weeks.

The JV game proved to be a tough battle for both teams, and one that came down to the wire. Paradise got on the board in the first quarter with no response from the Bulldogs until the second quarter. Freshman running back Michael Ryan slips to the outside on a 12-yard run to make it a 7-6 game after a failed two-point conversion. Later in the quarter sophomore quarterback Shay Carr scrambled from 11-yards out to increase Gridley’s lead 12-6. The 2-point conversion from Carr to Ryan made the score 14-7 at halftime. Paradise tied the game up at 14-14 early in the third quarter. Both defenses held the offenses at bay until the fourth quarter when Gridley’s Ryan scored on a 35-yard run after a forced fumble from the Bulldog defense. The failed 2-point conversion made it 20-14 in favor of Gridley. Paradise would retake the lead in the fourth quarter making it 21-20. On the next Bulldog possession Michael Ryan would escape up the right sideline for a 62-yard gain before being tackled inside the 10-yard line. Unfortunately, the Bobcats defense stopped the Bulldog threat with an interception in the endzone, and the game would eventually end 21-20.

The Gridley varsity team struggled early on both offense and defense in their contest against the Bobcats. The offense went 4-and-out with a failed fake punt attempt on their own side of the field. Paradise quickly capitalized to make it 7-0. After the first quarter Paradise had a 21-0 lead, but both defenses held each other at bay until halftime with the score still 21-0. Paradise quickly scored to start the second half making it 28-0 before junior quarterback Cameron Carr found the endzone on a 21-yard scramble late in the third quarter. Paradise would go on to win the contest by a score of 28-6.

Next Two Games: Friday, September 13th, at Central Valley High School | Friday, September, 20th, at Gridley High School vs Live Oak (Annual Harvest Bowl)