It was as if fate had pitted the West Plains and Randall football teams for District 2-4A, Division I supremacy.
The No. 4-ranked Wolves boasted one of the best offenses in the state, and the Raiders put together a stingy defensive unit capable of stealing wind from their opponents’ sails. The classic tale of the irresistible force meeting the immovable object.
Both Canyon Independent School District brethren and separated by less than seven miles, with the prize being a golden cowboy hat adorned with a John Wayne playing card.
Even though both teams had to sit through a lengthy lightning delay on Friday evening at Happy State Bank Stadium in Canyon, the night belonged to West Plains junior running back Slade Russell and a motivated Wolves defense.
Riding on Russell’s four touchdowns and two takeaways, West Plains raced past Randall to a 62-13 victory to claim the Crosstown Showdown and “The Duke” for the second straight season.
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In their 15th straight district win, which runs back to Oct. 13, 2022, the Wolves stomped on the gas pedal and never let up. According to Adam Cummings, head coach for West Plains, he never really kept count.
“It feels like we just opened, these four years have flown by so fast,” Cummings said after the victory. “It’s crazy. These kids were freshmen when we started this, so it’s neat to see it all come to fruition and watch them be the leaders of our school. They’ve just really taken ownership of what we do and who we are. I’m just really proud of these seniors.
Russell, who used his speed, agility and toughness to help keep the Raiders guessing. The junior set the contest’s tone with the Wolves’ first touchdown, a seven yard scamper into paydirt.
By the end of the game, Russell rushed for 184 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries. Through the air, Russell pulled down three catches for 37 yards and another score.
“I felt like our energy coming into this game was awesome,” said Russell. “I felt like the energy, even after the lightning delay and all that, we just stayed locked in, stayed ready to go, knew what the game plan was, and helped through with it. A lot of people knew the game was going to go, just based on consistency, just from off that first touchdown.”
Although Randall was handed a tough setback, head coach Dan Sherwood knew that it was a mere hiccup. After all, the worst the Raiders could finish — should they win out for the next two weeks — is the runner-up position within the district.
“I’m treating it as a speed bump, but give credit to West Plains,” Sherwood said. “They’re a dang good football team. They showed why they deserve the ranking that they have, but we didn’t play to our full potential. That’s in all phases. That’s on me to get our guys to the level which they can be.”
“I credit our guys with their heart, with their love for each other,” added Sherwood. “They didn’t tap out and they didn’t throw in the towel. So, we’ve got a good football team.”
West Plains improved to 7-0 overall with a 3-0 record in district. The Wolves now flip to the home side of Happy State Bank Stadium, as they face Dumas at 7 p.m. next Thursday.
The Demons (6-2, 2-1) defeated Hereford in a 38-10 rout on Friday at Demon Stadium in Dumas.
“We’ve got to be disciplined and consistent in our approach Monday through Thursday,” Cummings said. “We have to come out and handle our business. We have to approach preparation and approach the game. Our kids did a great job of that this (past) week, and we’ve got to continue to do that. I was really proud of how our kids came out with the juice and energy. We’ve got to do that for the next two weeks, and then, carry it into the playoffs.”
Russell echoed his coach’s words.
“We have to stay consistent and disciplined in everything we do,” said Russell. “We have to be ready to go.”
Randall dipped down to 2-1 in district and 6-2 overall. The Raiders shift into “road mode,” before squaring off with Pampa at 7 p.m. next Friday at Harvester Field at Zach Thomas Stadium in Pampa.
The Harvesters (1-7, 0-3 in district) fell to Canyon by way of a 41-6 result on Friday at home.
“We’ve got to flush this (loss),” Sherwood said. “We have to be able to flush it and move on. We’ve got to go on the road, play our best football and that’s what matters. Most of the time after a loss, it’s ‘when do we get to practice again?’ Because we want to get back to where we know we’re capable.”
West Plains went methodical after sitting through a near two-hour weather stoppage and receiving the opening kickoff. The Wolves went to work, driving down the field from their own 25 yard line before striking paydirt.
Russell scored his first TD of the game off of a seven yard run and following the successful PAT from junior Gipson Gnagy, the Wolves opened up the game with a 7-0 score with 9:28 on the clock. Randall was forced to punt, placing the Wolves on their own three yard line.
West Plains proceeded to make a 97 yard march, before senior quarterback Reid Macon plunged into the endzone for the three yard score with 5:30 to go in the initial period.
Macon ended up going 18-of-20 for 233 yards and three touchdowns. On the ground, the standout signal caller rushed for 41 yards and two more endzone trips on eight carries.
The Wolves threatened to score again early in the second quarter. However, Randall senior defensive lineman Garrett Splitt had to interject.
Macon worked the play-action and spun toward the visitor stands, before attempting to dump off a screen pass. Splitt snagged the pass out of the air, before running back the interception for an 85-yard touchdown.
“(Senior linebacker Mark Gallegos) did a good job coming off of the edge, forcing the pressure,” said Sherwood, breaking down the thrilling play. “Then, Garrett just snatched it out of the air. I was really proud of (senior linebacker) Drayven Patton hustling down there to make sure Garrett got into the endzone. That shows why both (Patton and Splitt) are captains and why (Gallegos) is a captain, too.”
With 11:45 until halftime, the Raiders cut the West Plains lead in half at 14-7.
The Wolves then swung the game’s momentum back in their favor, and did so in a hurry.
At the 8:24 mark, Macon followed his blockers for a one yard touchdown. Less than five minutes later, with 3:38 to go until intermission, Macon connected with Russell for a 15 yard score.
Senior receiver/defensive back Kane White-Tinsley came down with an interception, leading to a 19-yard touchdown connection between Macon and senior wideout Jenks Phillips by the two-minute timeout. Senior defensive lineman Jacob Crowe soon recovered a fumble, allowing Russell to score a 12-yard touchdown with 1:22 left in the first half.
“It was my favorite touchdown,” Russell said, recalling the score. “I had two stiff arms to that one.”
Russell then tipped his hat to his guys on the defensive side. Alongside their two turnovers, the Wolves limited the Raiders to just 92 total yards on offense.
“They played lights out, like they always do,” Russell said. “I always give my praises to the defense, man, because they’re just so good. And (White-Tinsley) is just a football player. I knew he was going to come down with the football.”
While the West Plains offense easily creates the headlines, Cummings praised his defense.
“I think there were some comments that were made earlier this week that lit the fire into our kids in terms of motivation,” Cummings said. “Our defense is underrated. They don’t get the respect that a lot of other people do. They’ve had shutouts this year, too. Our defense played with a chip on their shoulder (against Randall).”
“(Defensive coordinator Josh King) and his staff put a really good game plan together,” Cummings continued. “Our kids executed it well and we played really good complementary football between offense, defense and special teams. I was just really proud of the overall performance.”
Before the break, West Plains executed a near perfect one-minute drill. With five second left until halftime, Macon fired a pass to junior tight end Kade Scheider for a five-yard touchdown.
At intermission, the Wolves scored 35 unanswered points to build a 49-7 advantage over Randall.
The Raiders continue to sputter, and the Wolves put up more points. Russell recorded his fourth touchdown of the game with 8:26 left in the third, this time rolling into the endzone from 17 yards out.
“He’s the highest energy kid that I’ve ever coached,” Cummings said of Russell. “He’s the kid that, instead of taking a handoff in practice and getting five yards, he’s sprinting 15 yards. He just goes hard all the time, and I’m proud of his effort. Then, our big boys up front did a good job blocking for him and controlling the line of scrimmage.”
Russell also commended his teammates in the trenches.
“I would not be the best without them, honestly,” Russell said. “How they push through, how they’re physical and they don’t just let one play define who they are. Man, I couldn’t ask for a better group.”
Despite a bobbled snap and Randall falling on the ball, West Plains stretched their lead to 55-7.
West Plains continued to apply pressure, as senior running back Alex Lucero completed another drive with a one yard touchdown dive. With 3:43 left in the third quarter, the Wolves presided over a huge 62-7 gap.
The Raiders did find paydirt once more, as junior backup quarterback Braylen Preciado completed a 19-yard touchdown pass to quarterback turned slotback in senior Kaison Benton. The two-point conversion attempt, which saw Preciado mishandle the PAT snap and almost reach the endzone, the Raiders trimmed the West Plains lead to 62-13.
“It was good to see that (Benton) was able to catch a touchdown,” said Sherwood. “That’s a package we’ve had for a while. (Benton’s) a good, natural receiver and played (the position) as a sophomore. It was one of those things that we could utilize. I am glad that we were able to get out there, do some things with that and showcase it a little bit. We’ll continue looking at different things, moving forward.”
That 49-point difference would hold until the final horn.
Complementing Macon and Russell was Schneider. The big tight end had a strong showing, snagging six catches for 87 yards and a touchdown. Lucero had 60 yards and his lone score off of 12 carries.
White-Tinsley had a good game on both sides of the football, hauling in three catches for 41 yards and one interception returned for 16 yards. Junior linebacker Gage Blaser collected two solo stops and four assisted tackles, and senior teammate Ayden Rodriguez compiled six assisted tackles.
Sophomore linebacker Bentley Chandler picked up a solo tackle and four assisted stops. Senior defensive back Lawson Bentancourt was credited with the forced fumble, with Crowe given the recovered fumble.
For Randall, Benton was 5-of-13 for 23 yards while picking up 29 yards and a touchdown. Preciado was 6-of-12 for 67 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Preciado also rushed for 12 yards on two carries.
Junior Phoenix Sherwood caught two passes for 43 yards, senior wideout Conner Miller had four receptions for 26 yards, and senior running back Isaiah Martinez rushed for 14 yards on nine carries.
