The Week 2 of the high school football season saw plenty of highlights and shocking victories. Take a look at some of the top storylines surrounding the action across the Texas Panhandle and South Plains.
Floydada snaps 18-game skid
Veteran head coach Jeff Smith, who is in his first season at Floydada, is already making his imprint on the community and football program. After leading the West Texas High Comanches to a 14-win season and a run to the UIL Class 2A Division I state semifinals last year, Smith decided to take on a rebuilding project in Floydada and good things seem to already be happening. On Friday night, in a rivalry over a century old, Floydada snapped an 18-game losing streak by laying it on rival Lockney 55-20 in the famous Floyd County Championship at Tyer Stadium in Floydada. It’s the Whirlwinds first win since beating Smyer 34-14 on Sept. 13 of 2024. It also gives the Whirlwinds the Floyd County Championship Trophy for the first time in three years. With the win, Floydada now leads the all-time series 70-33-1.
“It was a big win for the community and for this team,” Smith said. “This place has been starving for that feeling and Lockney has had that Floyd County Trophy for two years and we wanted it back. The energy in this town is great since we’ve started and being a part of a rivalry game like that was awesome. We are trying our best to change the culture and the guys are buying in. The look on their faces after getting that win against Lockney was awesome to see. We want to see that some more.”
Smith’s youngest son, Dayne, a sophomore running back, chewed up the Longhorns for 160 yards rushing on 10 carries with three touchdowns. Dayne also made 14 tackles on defense.
Randall rallies by Wichita Falls Memorial
The Randall Raiders are off to a 2-0 start to the 2026 campaign, but it sure wasn’t an easy way to do it. Randall trailed Wichita Falls Memorial 28-14 with eight minutes to play in the game on the road Friday night at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls, however, the Raiders made a furious rally to stun the Mavericks 35-34 for a dramatic overtime victory. Randall cut the Memorial (1-1) lead at 28-21 on a Drayden Ray 30-yard scoot with just under eight minutes left. With under 10 seconds left, the contest got even more hectic. Down to their final play, and the ball at the Memorial 10-yard line, Randall quarterback Hendrix Funk was able to find Phoenix Sherwood as time expired for a touchdown, making it 28-27 Mavericks. The Raiders were hit with a celebration penalty following the score, forcing kicker Jacob Avalos to kick a 35-yard extra-point. Avalos drilled the point after, pushing the game in OT. In the overtime frame, Memorial scored first but Randall blocked the extra-point. The Raiders then scored on their OT possession with an 8-yard scamper for Ray with Avalos kicking the game-winner to make the comeback complete. Ray was outstanding in the win rushing for 114 yards on 34 carries with three TDs. Sherwood had six catches for 59 yards and a touchdown.
Panhandle punches back
A week after taking a lopsided loss to Canadian 68-34, the Panthers weren’t given anytime to lick their wounds with No. 1 Stratford from Class 2A Division II coming to Panthers Stadium. To say Panhandle made a statement maybe quite the understatement. The Panthers dominated the favored Elks 36-12 to get their first win on the year and the 96th career victory for 12th year head coach Dane Ashley. Panhandle running back Lukas Purcell paved the way with a tremendous effort carrying the ball 18 times for 114 yards with a pair of touchdowns. The Panther defense limited Stratford (1-1) to 245 total yards.
Slade is off the leash
Through the first two games West Plains running back Slade Russell has been unleashed. Russell is putting up MVP type numbers and was unbelievable helping West Plains to its first win of the year in lopsided 48-14 win over Frenship Memorial. Following a 200-yard plus effort despite a loss against Wall in the season opener, Russell was unstoppable against the Panthers toting the rock 26 times for 226 yards with a pair of touchdowns. Russell also showed how dynamic he is out of the backfield catching two passes for 81 yards and another score. Through the first two games, the West Plains senior leader has already stacked up 454 yards rushing with three TDs.
Dimmitt, Bovina, and Vega stay unbeaten
It’s early in the 2026 season and there is a lot of football left to be played but three under the radar Texas Panhandle teams are off to 2-0 starts. Dimmitt, Bovina and Vega have all had its fair share of highlights to start the year. The Bobcats are coming off an impressive 53-28 win against Borger on Friday, the Mustangs knocked off Tahoka 34-29 and the Longhorns sank Sunray 48-12. Dimmitt is looking for its first 3-0 start since 2016 when they play Muleshoe on Friday. Bovina is hoping to go 3-0 for the first time since 2016 when they battle Sanford-Fritch at home next week, and Vega can make it a 3-0 start for the first time in seven years when the Longhorns square off with Shamrock.
