The ultimate goal of any defense is to prevent the opponent from putting points on the board. If a defense is stout enough, bonus objectives include limiting their opposition to miniscule possessions, creating turnovers and scoring their own points.
A strong set of defenders also relieves pressure off of their offensive teammates.
Within District 2-4A, Division I — where each team houses their own star offensive player — a talented defense is the difference between entrance into the postseason or being left out of the playoff picture entirely.
Randall relied on its defense in a big way, taking down a potent Dumas team with a 27-14 outcome on Thursday evening at Happy State Bank Stadium in Canyon. In a battle between district contenders, the Raiders took the inside track by winning the fight within the trenches, claiming two turnovers and stopping the Demons in the red zone on three crucial occasions in the second half.
The rest of this story is only for subscribers.
“Wins are hard to come by, no matter if it’s non-district, district or whatever,” said Dan Sherwood, Randall head coach. “Our defense has been playing really well all season. Our offense, starting out hot, always gives those guys something extra. It makes them feel like, ‘alright, our offense can get the job done’ and ‘we just have to go out there and do our part.”
We pride ourselves on taking the ball away and trying to gain those extra possessions,” Sherwood added. “Dumas is a phenomenal team. (Dumas junior quarterback Colton Mills), my word. He is hard to tackle. He’s hard to keep in the pocket. Our guys did a good job pressuring him and making plays when we could. I couldn’t be more proud of the effort our guys put out there.”
Randall sophomore linebacker Jevin Gallegos had a huge night. Within a two-minute timespan in the second period, Gallegos forced Mills to fumble, scooped up the football and ran it back for 67 yards, before snagging a 76-yard interception for a touchdown.
By the end of the night, Gallegos accumulated seven total tackles, two tackles for a loss.
The 14-point swing made all of the difference between a two-possession victory and a low-scoring nailbiter. All throughout the game, the Randall defensive lineman won the war of attrition up front.
One of those workhorses was senior defensive lineman Garrett Splitt. Splitt dominated the line of scrimmage, totaled six tackles and one quarterback pressure.
“We wanted to be more physical than (Dumas),” Splitt said, following the victory. “They’re usually known for being a four quarter football team. We’re known for being a four-quarter football team, too. We just hit them as hard as we could in the mouth.”
Splitt’s teammate, senior defensive lineman Terris White, racked up a staggering 13 total tackles, one and a half tackles for a loss and two quarterback pressures.
According to Dumas head coach Aaron Dunnam, the game was one of missed opportunities.
The Demons made plenty of adjustments in the second half, and limited Randall to a handful of plays until the twilight minutes of the game and prevented the contest from getting out of hand. Down 27-0 at halftime, the Demons clawed back to within striking distance. However, getting turned away on three trips deep in Raider territory still stung.
“We just dug ourselves a hole that we couldn’t get out of,” Dunnam said. “You look at the first half, 27-0 is what it was. But the second half was 14-0 for us.”
Dunnam also understands that the sun rises again the next day, and knows that his team will bounce back in short order.
“What I am still proud of our kids is the way that we fought,” said Dunnam. “We just have to find a way. We have to execute better in the first half and not put ourselves in that situation. There’s still a lot of football in front of us. We wanted to be 1-0 in district play, but we’re not. Now, we go to work and figure out how to win game two. “
Randall started off league play on the right foot, improving to 1-0 in district and 5-1 overall. The Raiders switch gears and go into road mode, facing off against Hereford at 7 p.m. next Friday at Whiteface Stadium in Hereford.
Even though Canyon ISD entered a four-day fall interlude this weekend, there’s no rest for the Raiders.
“We don’t get a break,” said Sherwood. “Our break is playing on Thursday and relaxing a little bit on Friday.”
Splitt touched on maintaining that furiosity on the field, along with trust in himself and his teammates. To the senior, those three goals are the main ingredients required to keep the Raiders’ success alive and well.
“We need to keep our practice intensity up,” Splitt said. “We just need to believe in ourselves. We just need to place faith over our fears.”
Dumas moved to 0-1 in district with a 4-2 overall record. The Demons return to Happy State Bank Stadium next Friday, where they will face Canyon at 7 p.m. next Friday.
“For us, it’s having a short memory,” Dunnam said. “We just got to get back to work. We can’t sit and dwell over this. We’re going to get in the film room, we’re going to meet as a coaching staff and figure out what happened. We got to focus on getting better. We have to put together a game plan and get ready for Canyon.”
The opening possession of the game was a long stretch, as Randall chewed up six minutes and 40 seconds off of the clock. The march was complete, thanks to senior quarterback Kaison Benton connecting with junior receiver Phoenix Sherwood for an eight-yard touchdown connection with 5:20 on the clock.
After plenty of back-and-forth between the Raiders and Demons, Randall extended their lead with 4:34 to go until halftime. From one yard out, junior Drayden Ray scored six and junior kicker Jacob Avalos supplied the extra point.
With intermission looming, Randall held a 14-0 advantage.
The Demons encountered turbulence as the first half winded down, as Mills coughed up a fumble deep in Randall territory. Gallegos tracked down the loose ball and sprinted back 67 yards to put the Raiders in a prime position to score.
Randall soon cashed in on that opening, with Benton connecting with senior wideout Brekken Ireland for a 23-yard touchdown with 1:32 left until intermission.
The Demons again attempted to drive down the field before the break. With seven seconds remaining in the first half, Gallegos reeled the INT and ran the pigskin back to the crib for the 76-yard score.
“(The game’s) whole momentum was on our side,” Splitt said of the thrilling sequence of events. “We just felt amazing after we scored on defense. It was like waking up on Christmas Day.”
At half, Randall looked to run away with the contest with a 27-0 lead. Dumas had other plans.
The Demons dominated the second half, as their opening drive resulted in a two-yard touchdown run from junior running back ZJ Jara. With 7:32 left in the third stanza, Dumas trailed by 21 at 27-7.
Dumas’ defensive corps then successfully contained the Raiders, allowing its offense to eat up the time of possession.
“We really did start getting our run game going, but we needed more,” Dunnam said. “We didn’t have enough time. If we could have, we could have started that way from the get-go. It would be a completely different ballgame.”
“I was extremely proud of our defense,” Dunnam continued. “We were on the field a lot in the first half. The talk at halftime was getting the ball back to our offense, that’s the only way we’re going to do it. We needed three-and-outs, and we needed them quickly. I think we did that. Our defense produced in the second half, and tried to maximize the amount of time we had, so we could score and get back into the game.”
The Demons put together long drives and threatened to narrow the gap, before being stopped short on fourth down each time.
Dumas did manage to break through with seven minutes left in the game, when Mills completed a 17-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Chris Jimenez. The Demons cut Randall’s lead in half at 27-14, but couldn’t get much closer.
Ray paced the Raider offense with 105 yards and one touchdown on 25 carries, while grabbing one pass for 10 yards. Benton was 6-of-15 with two TDs and one interception.
Sophomore Kobe Baccas caught one pass for 47 yards, which was thrown by Avalos. Senior Conner Miller caught three passes for 23 yards.
Along with Gallegos, Splitt and White, senior Mark Gallegos amassed eight tackles, senior Ashton Klinke tallied seven tackles and teammate Drayven Patton recorded six tackles.
“I think I did good,” Splitt said, before praising his teammates. “I couldn’t do it without having a great nose guard and a great defensive end.”
Mills was 15-of-25 for 200 yards and one TD, with Jara finishing with 40 yards and one score on 18 carries. Senior Blake Robinson reeled in five catches for 91 yards, followed by senior L.D. Balbuena’s 50 yards on three receptions, junior Colt Fox’s three catches for 18 yards and Jara’s 18 yards on two catches.
Balbuena recorded 14 tackles and one INT to lead the Demons on defense. Junior Shooter Coon collected 10 tackles, and sophomore Kelton Dill totaled six tackles and one quarterback sack. Jimenez contributed with six tackles, followed by senior Juan Carlos Corona’s five tackles.