HEREFORD – The showdown is now officially set up for next week, and the Randall Raiders made sure they got in that position Friday night at Whiteface Stadium.
Randall dominated Hereford in just about every fashion in a clash for a share of the District 2-4A Division I lead. The Raiders gave up literally nothing defensively and coasted to a 24-0 victory which sent a major statement to their remaining opponents.
That means next week at Happy State Bank Stadium will feature the Canyon ISD clash most people have been waiting for over the past two months. Randall and West Plains, sporting identical 6-1 overall and 2-0 district marks, will meet to determine sole possession of the district lead, with the winner claiming the inside track toward a district championship.
If the Raiders were looking past Hereford (2-5, 1-1) toward West Plains, it sure didn’t show.
[tds_partial_locker tds_locker_id=”26894″]“There are always things we look at we feel we need to do better but that’s just our mentality,” Randall coach Dan Sherwood said. “I’m pleased with the guys coming into a tough place like Hereford. To be able to come out here and play some good football, I’m proud of them.”
Drayden Ray was the big difference in the first half, as he had three touchdown runs, two for over 60 yards each, as Randall led 21-0 at halftime.
Randall scored on the first two possessions of the game. Ray cashed in at the end of an 80-yard drive after Hereford was forced to punt, as the Raiders elected to go for it on fourth-and-three from the Hereford 10-yard line, and Ray took it in the end zone through a crease in the right side.
“For the last seven weeks we’ve had our wildcat package we’ve put a lot of faith into and it’s had success,” said Ray, who had a career game with 203 yards on 21 carries. “I got the idea of just going for it on fourth-and-three even though we have a really good kicker.”
On Randall’s next possession, Ray found another crease in the right side, only bigger, and it resulted in a 61-yard scoring run and a 14-0 lead with 42 seconds left in the first quarter.
The turning point in the game, though, may have come early in the second quarter on a run where Ray was stopped. Hereford could only think about what might have been.
With a fourth-and-one on their own 29, the Raiders rather boldly chose to go for it, but the Whitefaces stopped Ray for no gain. It was a prime opportunity for Hereford to get back into the game.
Hereford got inside the Randall 10, but quarterback Kalub Ramirez was tackled during a keeper and hobbled off the field not to return with what appeared to be an ankle injury. Bennett Bell, who started at wide receiver and had caught three passes for 27 yards, took over behind center, and on fourth-and-one from Randall’s 1, was stopped short of the goal line, giving the Raiders the ball.
“We went for it on fourth and short in our own territory and didn’t get it, but we have confidence in our defense and they got a good goal line stand,” Sherwood said. “They’re just playing their butts off. I wanted to see what we could do with the defense bowing their neck and getting a big stop.”
Offense was a struggle for the Herd, especially once Ramirez left the game. Bell did hit a groove in the second half throwing the ball after opening with four straight incompletions, but it was too little, too late.
“We were struggling while Kalub was in to complete some passes,” Hereford coach Adam Naron said. “(The Raiders) did a great job of pressuring the quarterback. Randall’s a tough defense. We struggled with a backup quarterback in there. Once he started getting some balls out he got more comfortable.”
The game still seemed competitive until 16 seconds left in the half. Randall looked to be perhaps running out the clock, but Ray took a handoff and went practically untouched up the middle, outsprinting the defense for a 73-yard score to give the Raiders a 21-0 halftime lead.
That more or less allowed Randall to coast after halftime.
“I just do what I do with what I have,” Ray said. “I have a great o-line. My best friend Diego (Flannagan, a starting lineman) did a great job when I was running behind him. It just makes my job really easy. I couldn’t do it without them. (Wide receiver) Conner Miller did a great job blocking down the field and it shows a lot of character what you do without the ball in your hands.”
For most of the season, quarterback Kaison Benton has been the focal point of Randall’s offense. Benton had an efficient game against Hereford, completing 17-of-24 passes for 176 yards with no interceptions.
Ray’s performance, though, will give future Randall opponents something to think about the rest of the season.
“I love watching Drayden run the football,” Sherwood said. “He runs so hard and gives us a good dynamic there. We’ve kind of been a running back by committee offense all season. It’s not by plan but Drayden did a good job coming out there tonight.”
The only points of the second half came when the Raiders took the second half kickoff and kept it for 7:49 before Jacob Avalos kicked a 32-yard field goal to make it 24-0 and end the scoring.
