Four years and 23 days.

212 weeks.

1,484 calendar days.

Whatever way you want to spin it, West Plains’ district winning streak had tracked itself at 20 games heading into the rain-soaked weekend. Quite a feat, as the Wolves hadn’t tasted defeat within their allotted circuit since their first outing in district play, dating back to a 38-28 setback at the hands of Seminole on Oct. 7, 2022.

It took one of the West Plains’ sibling high schools from within the Canyon Independent School District, the Randall Raiders, to lay that long stretch to rest.

On a misty and dreary Friday evening at Happy State Bank Stadium in Canyon, Randall overcame five lead changes and scored 21 unanswered points to capture a 39-21 victory over West Plains.

Not only did Randall end the Wolves streak at 20 contests and lift “the Duke,” the golden cowboy hat in which both teams jockey for, but the win also clinched a playoff berth for the Raiders.

To add another layer of intrigue to an already fascinating District 2-4A Division I, the result spawned a three-way tie atop the league standings between Dumas, Randall, and West Plains. A three-way draw that needs another week of play — the final week of the regular season, mind you — to shake things out for seeding purposes.

For the moment, though, Randall head coach Dan Sherwood was speechless with how his team performed on Senior Night.

“I’m having trouble with words, other than how much I love these kids,” Sherwood said. “We got to honor our seniors, and there’s nothing more special than being a senior playing Texas high school football. Hopefully, to have some kind of positive impact on these kids’ lives is all I care about, and then the other stuff takes care of itself on the field. I love these kids. (Being around them) is just a blessing.”

It was an emotional win for Randall senior Drayden Ray, who rushed 25 times for 158 yards and three touchdowns. Following the post-game celebration with the Randall student section, Ray walked from endzone to endzone with his fellow seniors before embracing his teammates.

“It feels amazing, because (West Plains) is a great program,” said Ray. “They give us their best every single time. It hasn’t gone our way the last two years, but we had a good game plan. We let our coaches take over, and we had faith in them. We got the job done. I got to win with my boys for (what could possibly be) the last time in this stadium. (Happy State Bank Stadium) means everything to me. I’ve been here since I was born.”

Sophomore quarterback Hendrix Funk, who went 18-of-27 for 242 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, credited his teammates for the win.

“It feels great,” Funk said. “Nobody had faith in us to come out and win. But we came out and got the job done. We did everything we needed to do. I’m just proud of everyone that came out and played their hearts out. I couldn’t do anything without them.”

While the district streak came to a bitter end for the Wolves, West Plains head coach Jeff Lofton acknowledged that it was indeed a hard fought game between two neighbors.

“This one kind of got away from us, but it was a great game against a great opponent,” Lofton said. “Both offenses and defenses, we were trading punches the whole game. It was a great battle. We got up and we were able to come in with a little bit of a lead (at halftime), but we had some operational errors that kind of hurt us in the second half. Things that can’t happen, turnovers and what not.”

“I can’t say enough about the grit of our kids,” added Lofton. “They never quit. It matters. You got tears, but we have to be able to bounce back.”

Randall forced three turnovers, compared to the West Plains’ lone takeaway.

Randall improved to 8-1 overall, with a 3-1 district record. The Raiders close out the regular season with a quick trip to the southwest to face Hereford, scheduled for 7 p.m. next Friday at Whiteface Stadium in Hereford. The Hostile Herd (3-6, 1-3 district) fell to Dumas, 44-31, on Friday at Demon Stadium in Dumas.

“We just need to continue the process and continue the process,” Sherwood said of the road ahead. “We’re not going to take anything for granted. We’re just going to enjoy the moment and enjoy being around each other on a daily basis.”

Ray echoed his coach. Should the Raiders take care of business, everything else will sort itself out.

“We don’t want to be complacent,” Ray said. “Six seconds of domination. We don’t want to worry about anything else. We’re going to worry about ‘the right now’ and be where our feet are.”

West Plains dipped down to a 5-4 record with a 3-1 mark in district. The Pack will have a short week on their hands, before playing host to Pampa at 7 p.m. next Thursday at Happy State Bank Stadium in Canyon.

The Harvesters (0-9, 0-4 district) lost to Canyon, 51-17, on Friday at Zach Thomas Stadium at Harvester Field in Pampa.

Lofton knows that West Plains will also need to handle their side of things, before allowing the implications to settle.

“It’s good that it’s a Thursday game,” Lofton said. “We can get back in the swing of things quickly. Pampa is no pushover. We need to get back to work, fix what’s wrong, and go take care of business. Then, we let the cards fall and get ready for the playoffs.”

Randall’s start was as good as it could get. Following an interception hauled in by junior defensive back Kobe Baccas, Funk delivered a pass to a wide open Phoenix Sherwood. The senior wideout blazed down the sideline, made a cut that split the West Plains defense, and bolted for a 58-yard touchdown at the 6:18 mark of the initial period.

“He’s as dynamic as dynamic can be,” Ray said of his teammate. “If you give him a glimpse of daylight, and he’s taking it all of the way. I just love that. He’s always going to step up for his teammates when we need him big. That’s it. That’s Phoenix Sherwood right there.”

On the ensuing two-pointer, Funk found fellow sophomore Bryson Lynn in the endzone. This gave the Raiders an 8-0 lead midway through the opening stretch.

With 1:59 left in the first, senior kicker Jacob Avalos split the uprights from 38 yards away. The three points was set up by a fumble recovery from senior linebacker Brody Kittrell, a stalled drive, and a muffed punt from West Plains that ended up in the hands of senior defensive back Tegan Nickelberry.

By the end of the first quarter, Randall held an 11-0 advantage.

“We started really fast and (the turnovers) were big for us,” said Sherwood.

West Plains countered with a big second quarter, built by senior standout Slade Russell and two big touchdown connections between sophomore quarterback Timber Russell and senior receiver Kelby Williams.

With 6:11 left until intermission, Timber Russell found an open Williams, who slipped past the Randall secondary. Williams caught the pass in the back of the endzone for a 38-yard touchdown.

Sophomore Braylon Kinsey snagged an interception with 5:54 remaining in the first half, which led to a touch pass from Timber Russell to Williams for the 23-yard touchdown connection. With 4:09 on the clock until halftime, the Wolves converted an 11-point deficit into a three-point lead at 14-11.

Williams finished the night with 67 yards and two scores on three catches.

“You got to have a stinger, and Kelby’s that dude,” Lofton said, praising his senior wideout. “He’s pretty clutch. He can get off of the line fast. We had great play designs to set that stuff up, as does great route running. It doesn’t take just Kelby doing it, you have to have your other receivers running routes just as hard as he does. That allows Kelby to have that wide open look. He kept us in the game, and he’s a great kid. He means a lot to the program.”

At intermission, West Plains still latched onto the 14-11 lead. After both bands put on their respective shows before the UIL area marching band contest, came the trio of lead changes.

Randall regained the lead at the 10:06 mark of the third, with a 10-yard touchdown run from Ray. Following a defensive pass interference call on West Plains, Ray took the direct snap and followed his offensive line and a blocking Hendrix Funk into the endzone.

The Wolves did responded, due to a 41-yard scamper from junior Colson Heider. Heider finished a drive that began deep in West Plains’ own territory, which was aided by a reverse to sophomore Boston Hunt and hard running from Slade Ruseell.

By shedding tacklers, bouncing to the outside, gaining the angle and taking the ball back to the crib, Heider, who finished with 42 yards on three carries, put the Pack back on top with 6:41 on the clock in the third stanza.

The Raiders countered, due to big runs from both Ray and Hendrix Funk, and a 33-yard pass from Funk to Sherwood. Sherwood nicked the pylon, but officials ruled him out at the West Plains’ one yard line. The play allowed Ray to take another direct snap and strike paydirt with 5:07 to go in the third.

At the end of the third quarter, the five overall lead changes wrapped up in a 25-21 lead for Randall. Despite the makings of a thrilling finish, the Raiders prevented the classic see-saw battle from continuing further. 

Randall’s unanswered run continued with 5:11 left in the game, with a Funk-to-Baccas touchdown pass from 20 yards out. Along with the touchdown grab and the first quarterback INT, Baccas picked up 42 yards on six catches on offense and eight total tackles on defense.

“That one just felt great,” Funk said, recalling the touch pass and catch in the left corner of the endzone. “I loved it. I had to take a look at the defense, but nobody could guard Kobe at this point. It feels great to have Kobe catch just about anything I throw up to him.”

With time winding down, the Raiders clamped onto a 32-21 lead. However, West Plains refused to go away.

With 3:17 remaining and facing a fourth and one on their own 46, the Pack went to their workhorse in Slade Russell.

However, senior linebacker Ace Bledsoe stopped Russell short of the sticks, providing Randall with a turnover on downs. Bledsoe tallied nine tackles for the winning side.

“That was big,” said Sherwood of the stop. “Slade is a monster. I thought we did a decent job of bottling him up. That’s kind of why we gave up the two big pass plays, because we were keying hard on him. But, when you face a running back with 5,000-plus rushing yards in his career, that gets your attention a little bit.”

Slade Russell was still a major factor in keeping the Wolves within striking distances, having churned out 189 yards on 33 carries over the course of the night. Russell averaged 5.7 yards per carry against the Raiders.

“He’s the reason we’re always in games,” Lofton said. “You have to establish the run. Without it, none of our play-action works. With Slade, you can count on him. If we want to give him 50 carries, he’d take them. You don’t want to do that to your running back, but he’s that kind of kid. He wants the ball, and he’s going to get four yards just about every time he touches it.”

With 2:27 left, Ray had his breakthrough with a 34-yard touchdown to seal the game. According to the senior, it was his favorite run of the night.

“It was like the nail in the coffin,” Ray said. “The guys had it blocked up perfectly. I just had to do the rest.”

West Plains had one final chance to trim the 39-21 lead, but a strip sack on Timber Russell resulted in a fumble recovery from junior lineman Daniel Cruz. From there, senior running back Danny Nunez was able to secure a first down to allow Randall to go into victory formation.

Nunez had seven carries for 30 yards to go along with his 15 total tackles, and junior wideout Kash Funk reeled in two catches for seven yards. Kittrell, senior Caleb Sanders, and teammate Nolan Chavira each collected eight total tackles. Senior lineman Ben Barton totaled six tackles.

Timber Russell was 11-of-22 for 125 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, while senior tight end Kade Schneider hauled in three receptions for 32 yards. Hunt had 27 yards on three carries, and senior Cash Lofton caught one pass for 10 yards.

Photo gallery by Joe Garcia III: