District 2-4A Division I has a lot to unpack

Randall shook things up in more ways than one following an impressive 39-21 pull away win against West Plains during a District 2-4A Division I showdown Friday night at Happy State Bank Stadium. It was the Raiders first program win against the Wolves in three chances, and Randall also put an end to West Plains’ 20-game league win streak.

On top of those two check marks, the Raiders also put themselves in the conversation for a district championship and No. 1-seed heading into the UIL Class 4A Division I playoffs. With one week to play in the regular season, Randall (8-1), West Plains (5-4) and Dumas (4-5) are all 3-1 in district with wins over one another. So, the question remains, what happens now? Well, here’s the scenarios for Week 11. Dumas travels to Happy State Bank for a battle with Canyon. If the Demons win, Dumas is the No. 1-seed regardless of what happens with Randall or West Plains. If the Demons lose to the Eagles, and Randall beats Hereford, then it’s Randall moving up the No. 1-seed. As for West Plains, the Wolves can be a No. 2-seed with a Canyon win and a No. 3-seed with a Dumas win.

Canyon head coach Matt Lovorn gets 99th career win

Matt Lovorn is creeping up on a special milestone. The Canyon head football coach picked up his 99th career win during the Eagles 51-17 rout of Pampa on Friday night. Lovorn is in his second season as the leader of the Canyon football program and his first full year in 2026. Through 17 games, Lovorn has brought life back to the Eagles program going 10-7 over those past two years.

The Canyon graduate made his name cutting his teeth at Stratford High School for 14 years. Lovorn eventually took over for legendary head coach Eddie Metcalf in 2015. Lovorn spent the next eight years guiding the Elks to an 89-22 record that included a UIL Class 2A Division II state championship in 2021.

Lovorn will go for his 100th career win when Canyon plays host to Dumas at 7 p.m. Friday night at Happy State Bank Stadium.

Gruver completes undefeated regular season

The Gruver Greyhounds will carry a 12-game regular season win streak into next season. Gruver completed an unblemished 10-0 record this past Friday with a 62-20 win at West Texas High. The Greyhounds will now enter a bye week before opening the UIL Class 2A Division II playoffs. Gruver was clearly tested this year with wins over Wellington, 56-28, and Panhandle, 45-20, in the non-district.

During District 1-2A Division II play, Gruver went a perfect 4-0 which included a thrilling 28-26 victory at home against rival Stratford. Through those four league games, the Greyhounds outscored Stratford, Vega, Bovina and WT High by a combined 201-49.

“Winning district is a big goal for us,” Gruver head coach Kurt Haberthur said. “I think that’s a goal for every team going into a season. To go undefeated in the process is just as big. We took a lot of shots from a lot of great teams. I feel playing the non-district schedule we did got us ready for district. I feel district now has us ready to go to the playoffs. We took a lot of teams best shots and that helped us out a lot.”

Gruver has made back-to-back appearances in the UIL Class 2A Division II state semifinals.

UIL state football championships find a broadcasting home

Following weeks of uncertainty, the UIL recently announced that it has found a broadcasting home for all 12 state football championship games. The UIL has made an agreement with Nexstar Media Group and Mission Broadcasting across the state that will allow fans that can’t attend a chance to watch for free.

Under the agreement, the 12 state championship games will be available on local broadcast television, streaming platforms or both, depending on the market. Fans will also be able to stream the games through participating stations’ digital platforms regardless of their location.

This move comes after Victory+ collapsed earlier in the year. Locally for folks in the Texas Panhandle, KAMR/ KCIT are still working out details for which games will air on their channels, however, every state football championship game will air on their website – https://www.myhighplains.com/ – and KAMR+.

For a full look at the announcement, please visit https://www.davecampbells.com/articles/2026/10/29/how-to-watch-every-2026-uil-football-state-championship-game-for-free

Week 11 has games with major playoff implications

The regular season concludes this coming Thursday and Friday with games that will have significant playoff implications across the Texas Panhandle and South Plains. Bushland travels to Dalhart with the No. 2-seed on the line in District 1-3A Division I. In District 2-3A Division II, Muleshoe hosts Lubbock Roosevelt for the fourth and final playoff spot. That same scenario happens in District 1-2A Division II with Bovina hosting Vega, and White Deer playing at Claude in a win or go home game in District 1-1A Division I.