In a key District 3-4A Division I showdown between Canyon ISD schools at Happy State Bank Stadium, Canyon took on Randall with the winner claiming sole possession of the district lead at the end of the night. The Eagles won just about every phase of the game, especially in the physical matchups, as they rolled over Randall 48-7 to settle a lot of arguments for now in district.
Canyon (7-1, 2-0 in district) claimed sole possession of the district lead and also clinched a playoff berth with the victory, not to mention claiming the tin goat which the winner of this annual district grudge match gets to keep for at least a year.
Randall (5-4, 2-1) also clinched a playoff berth with Pampa’s loss to Dumas, but the Raiders gave up the goat after holding it for three years. It’s rare that there’s been a score this lopsided in the history of this series, but while Canyon’s margin of victory was surprising, any glance at the numbers shows it wasn’t a fluke.
“Obviously, when your offense scores that many points and your defense does a good job, you’re pleased and you’re surprised,” said Canyon coach Todd Winfrey, who took home the goat for the first time in three tries as head coach in the rivalry. “You’ll take a one-point win. If you can find a way to win by half a point you’ll take it, but I was proud of the way our offense and defense kept playing.”
Ironically, both teams struggled offensively in a scoreless first quarter. The second quarter was all Canyon by a huge margin, as the Eagles scored on all five possessions to roll to a 35-0 halftime lead.
Randall had the best chance to score early. The Raiders sacked Canyon quarterback Boston Bell for a big loss and forced a fumble, recovering it in Canyon territory. But after Canyon’s defense held, Jacob Avalos had a 43-yard field goal partially blocked, and the Raiders lost whatever momentum they may have built.
“We did a good job early finding a way to get off the field (defensively), we just didn’t put drives together early and let them hang around and then they were able to establish the line of scrimmage,” said Randall coach Dan Sherwood, coaching in his first Canyon-Randall game. “We let our emotions get the best of us. We were a little too amped up and that’s why we missed some catches and some throws.”
The Eagles got on the scoreboard on the first play of the second quarter on a 13-yard scoring pass from Bell to Tripp Wright to make it 6-0. That was just the beginning of an offensive onslaught in which Canyon had two long scoring plays in between two short Sam Johnson scoring runs.
Christian McGuire, who has developed as a utility player for the Eagles, ran 67 yards for a score to make it 20-0. Bell later hit Jacob Burris on a short pass and Burris did the rest for an 85-yard score to make it 28-0.
McGuire has become a multiple threat for the Eagles in more than one aspect. Although listed as a receiver, he ran for 134 yards on eight carries, and at defensive back made several plays to help keep Randall at bay.
“I just want to do whatever I can to help the team win and I appreciate the coaches for giving me a lot of opportunities,” McGuire said. “The O-line blocked their butts off and I could have run a truck through that hole (on the touchdown run). It brings the intensity up to play a team like (Randall). They’re a heck of a football team and it feels great to get the W.”
Rivera came off the bench but still ended up with a game-high 171 yards on 13 carries.
What made Canyon’s performance especially impressive was that several standouts for the Eagles played extensively on both sides of the ball. Johnson started at running back and linebacker, helping to stifle Randall’s running game while picking up 79 yards on 12 carries.
“That was a big, big bullet point up here,” said Johnson of winning the physical matchups. “That was high on our list. We knew the most physical team coming into this game was going to win it. In the end power always wins.”
CISD Hall of Fame inducts eight
The second annual Canyon ISD Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony inducted eight new members, who were presented prior to kickoff Friday night.
They were state champion hurdler Michael Stigler of Canyon; basketball’s Hampton Family (Johnny and Sharon and daughters Jordan, Brittany and Nicole, who were Canyon players) who won a combined 28 state championships; Randall girls basketball and volleyball standout Amanda Sandlin; Canyon football player John Sellers; Randall baseball player Chance Douglass; Canyon football player Cody Campbell; Randall football coach Alan Cornelius; and Canyon football coach Blake Bryant.