PLAINVIEW — In most cases, football games can evolve into tales of two halves.
The first half can be sluggish, before the two teams settle in. Returning from the locker room, the players find their collective groove, the playbooks open up and fans are treated to a thrilling finish.
It can also move in the opposite direction, where the first half provides initial impressions of a white knuckle ride. Then, the second half shifts into a proverbial chess match on the gridiron.
While the bands and miscellaneous activities are conducted on the field, it’s all about making the adjustments inside of the locker room within that 20 minute timespan.
The regular season opener between Randall and Plainview, which took place on Friday evening at Greg Sherwood Memorial Bulldog Stadium, saw those adjustments made. With those refinements, the Raiders used a strong second half to power past the Bulldogs with a 44-23 result.
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Randall trailed Plainview, 21-17, heading into intermission. Returning from the locker room, the Raiders outscored the Bulldogs with a 27-2 differential.
Dan Sherwood, Randall head coach, acknowledged Plainview’s capabilities before tipping his cap to his coaching staff and team leaders.
“You have to give credit to Plainview,” Sherwood said, following the game. “They’re a very talented team and they did a really good job with their tempo, with how fast they played. Gosh almighty, we need that wake up call.”
“I’m proud of the entire coaching staff with the adjustments they made,” Sherwood added. “They didn’t panic, and they relied on our veterans. That helped our younger guys grow up. We always talk about starting fast, but our big focus is finishing strong. I firmly believe that we did that.”
Randall senior quarterback Kaison Benton led that charge. The highly touted signal caller had a splendid season opener, going 18-of-24 for 255 yards and two touchdowns through the air while rushing eight times for 61 yards and three more trips to the endzone.
Benton credited his offensive line for opening gaps, which led to big plays in the second half.
“I can’t do it without my front five guys right there,” said Benton. “They make the holes, and my job is to hit them, stick my foot in and go up the middle. At halftime, we talked about (implementing) more quarterback runs, because (the Bulldogs) weren’t respecting my legs in the first half. So, we just let (our offensive line) eat.”
It wasn’t like the Bulldogs completely cratered in the second half, though. Plainview totaled 361 yards of total offense, and was within striking distance on plenty of occasions. Until a late interception doomed them, the Bulldogs trailed by only two scores with plenty of time left to operate.
“We certainly had our moments we could have climbed back into the game,” said Wyatt Martinez, Plainview head coach. “We missed some opportunities that we needed, which would have given us a chance.”
Martinez also praised the Raiders.
“Randall is a good ball club, man,” Martinez said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for coach Sherwood and what they do. But we’ve got to put all four quarters together at the end of the day.”
The Raiders started their fall campaign with a 1-0 record. Randall brings in Monahans for their home opener, slated for 7 p.m. next Friday at Happy State Bank Stadium in Canyon.
The Loboes (0-1) lost to Shallowater, 28-6, on Friday at Estes Memorial Stadium in Monahans.
According to Sherwood, there’s plenty of room for improvement. However, he’s going to keep strengthening on what the Raiders have established.
“There’s so many ‘week one’ mistakes, but I thought we took care of the ball, for the most part,” said Sherwood. “The biggest thing I’m proud of, is that nobody hit the panic button. We’re just going to continue to build, and I’m going to continue to enjoy each and every day with these guys.”
Plainview has Homecoming on tap for the upcoming week, playing host to Pampa at 7 p.m. next Friday at Greg Sherwood Memorial Stadium. The Harvesters (0-1) fell to Iowa Park in a 28-27 heartbreaker on Friday at Zach Thomas Stadium at Harvester Field.
“We match up well with Pampa, and we’ve beaten them pretty good over the last couple of years,” Martinez said. “They’re always ready to play, and I have a lot of respect for them. We’ve got Homecoming, but we’ve got to prepare well. We need to learn from our mistakes and make sure they don’t happen again.”
The first half of the game between the Raiders and Bulldogs had the makings of a shootout.
Randall got on the board first, forcing Plainview to stall out its first drive and forge together a two-play scoring drive. Benton rumbled through from two yards out with 8:54 on the clock, granting the Raiders an early lead.
Plainview put together a strong running game of its own, thanks to senior quarterback Seth Mayberry and senior running back Blaze Chambers. With 45 seconds left, Mayberry plunged into the endzone on a second and goal from two yards out.
The Bulldogs then cashed in on an opportunity with 13 seconds left in the first stanza, as the Raiders mishandled a punt. The loose football rolled into the endzone, before Plainview junior Aiden Gomez fell on it for the go-ahead score.
“That was an incredible play,” Martinez said of the sequence of events. “I’m really proud of (Gomez), as it was his first varsity game. He found a way to make a big play, and give us some momentum. We have a young team, defensively, so we have to learn to capitalize on those moments and let the momentum drive us.”
The Raiders were unfazed, driving the ball once more. With 6:44 left in the first half, junior kicker Juan Avalos booted a 25-yard field goal to trim the Plainview lead to 14-10.
Mayberry and the Bulldogs replied with a four-yard touchdown plunge with 2:18 left until halftime. Mayberry’s second trip into paydirt was aided by Chambers, who compiled 96 rushing yards.
“(Chambers) is an incredible back,” Martinez said. “I’m really proud of his effort. We knew we were going to run the football and run it with both Blaze and Seth. He’s come a long way, and he gets better every week. His vision was something he struggled with last year, but he’s fixed a lot of those things. He wants it really bad, and he took care of the football.”
Trailing by 11, Randall marched right back down the field. With eight seconds left, Benton connected with senior wideout Conner Miller for a six-yard touchdown.
At the break, Plainview latched onto a 21-17 lead. When both teams returned to the field, the tide turned in favor of the Raiders.
After forcing the Bulldogs into a three-and-out, Randall took the lead with 8:34 on the clock. Junior running Danny Nunez muscled his way into the endzone from five yards out. Prior to the score, the Raiders used the ground game to their advantage, along with a big pass play between Benton and Miller.
Miller scored his second touchdown of the game with 11:50 left, snagging a short pass from Benton before converting the play into a 39-yard touchdown. Miller finished the game with four receptions for 99 yards and his two TDs.
Benton was quick to commend his teammate.
“(Miller) had a good night,” Benton said. “Four catches for two touchdowns is pretty impressive.”
Plainview and Randall then traded fumble recoveries, before the Raiders increased their lead with 7:54 remaining. Benton scored by taking the corner for a one yard score.
The extra point attempt was blocked by Plainview, before junior linebacker Adrian Hernandez scooped up the ball. Hernandez then took it back to the other endzone for two points.
Despite yielding two, Randall maintained a 37-23 lead. Benton put the game on ice for the visiting Raiders.
With 3:52 left, the Raiders faced a fourth and two on their own 48. Benton was called upon to rush up the middle. Benton then burst through the line, sprinted past defenders and took it to the house for a 52-yard score.
“We called a little quarterback run, inside zone,” Benton said, recalling the play. “I saw the hole, and I went as fast as I could. I wasn’t going to get caught on my way to that touchdown.”
After Benton clocked 20.1 mph en route to the score, the Raiders pulled away for good. A late interception later sealed the deal.
“I told (the players) that if they got a turnover, I’ll buy them lunch,” Sherwood said of the defensive effort. “I guess I’m out of some money. They did a great job of settling in, taking those adjustments and playing fast. Being forced to play fast with no experience is hard to come by. We had to replace a lot of guys, but we got a lot of experience points (against Plainview).”
Complementing Benton and Miller was Nunez, who rushed for 52 yards on eight carries and sophomore receiver Kobe Baccas caught four passes for 62 yards. Junior wideout Phoenix Sherwood reeled in four passes for 60 yards, and Drayden Ray collected 37 yards on seven rushing attempts.
Mayberry paced Plainview, going 22-of-33 for 185 yards. Mayberry also rushed for 80 yards and two TDs on 20 carries. Senior wideout Jordan Porter caught six passes for 103 yards, and teammate Jae’Breon Wideman collected 12 passes for 44 yards.