After Roland Hall's Brock Paradise performance Saturday afternoon at America First Field, someone other than Nick Rimando might justifiably claim the nickname “The Wall of the Wasatch.”
On five different occasions, American Heritage players stepped into the penalty spot for a chance to win the 2A state championship in a marathon shootout, but incredibly, Paradise lost all five of them. I saved him.
His sixth save in the 16th round of the shootout clinched the state championship for Roland Hall with a 9-8 shootout victory after 100 minutes of scoreless football. This round of 16 is believed to be a state championship record.
After the match, the senior didn't hesitate to reveal the secret to his successful PK.
“Usually they try to turn sideways and shoot in the opposite direction, so no matter what they look like, you dive in the opposite direction and hope for the best. That's the usual way and it seems to work. ” Paradise said.
American Heritage keeper Weston Larson made three big saves of his own in a shootout that epitomized the roller coaster of emotions.
The final totals for the penalty shootout were 32 shots, 17 on goal, nine saves, three on the crossbar, one on the post and two over the bar for Harry Keynes.
“It was a roller coaster of emotions,” Roland Hall coach Joe Murray said.
It was Roland Hall's third penalty shootout victory of the season. In both of the past two penalty shootouts, he did not miss a penalty.
After Roland Hall missed three of his first five shots, American Heritage's No. 5 shooters advanced with a chance for the win, including Zach Barna, who made his fifth kick. Paradise flew right and saved it.
After his teammates failed in the eighth, ninth, 10th and 13th rounds, Paradise again read the American Heritage penalty taker's body language and made a diving save.
“The team has supported me all season, so it’s nice to be able to give back to them as a change of pace,” Paradise said.
Brant Barker and Tripp Rollins landed kicks in the 14th and 15th rounds, respectively, and American Heritage's Gabe Harmon and Will Saunders answered as well.
That is the stage of the 16th round, the story of Burna's wild salvation.
He missed his shot in the fifth round over the crossbar, but incredibly, he got another chance 11 rounds later and confidently sank the penalty for a 9-8 lead.
From there, Paradise did the rest with an impressive sixth save.
“At this stage of the season it's about heart, desire and hard work, and the players showed a lot of that today,” Murray said.
Roland Hall had a slight advantage in regulation, but American Heritage was unlucky to score in overtime when his shot hit the crossbar and post.
The Winged Lions entered the playoffs with modest expectations as the No. 6 seed after losing the final game of the regular season to St. Joseph.
Despite losing to St. Joseph twice during the regular season, Roland Hall defeated the Jayhawks in the semifinals. The final game was similar to the one the Winged Lions lost to American Heritage twice.
Roland Hall finished the season with a 10-6 record en route to its fourth state championship in school history. His first win of the season came in a penalty shootout against Judge, where Paradise made two saves. It was a story that would end with his penalty save clinching the state championship a few months later.
“This season was one of those seasons where we didn't immediately know what our best formation, our best 11, was,” Murray said. “There was a lot of work that went into this season in terms of making adjustments and trying to get things right. The players' passion is what I will remember most.”