Two years after West Plains made an auspicious debut as Canyon ISD’s third high school, the Wolves will officially join the established blue bloods of CISD on the gridiron this fall. West Plains will join Canyon and Randall in District 2-4A Division I in a district which should contain as many amusing subplots as a season of “Yellowstone.”
For two years, West Plains has competed in District 2-4A Division II while Canyon and Randall have occupied 3-4A D-I. That’s all history now, as the three CISD schools will now share the same district in every sport for the first time.
When they play each other this season, it will mean something more than pride, which was big enough already. West Plains coach Adam Cummings, who was previously an assistant at Canyon, knows all about that.
“I think it definitely adds to the tradition as far as the big rivalries in the Panhandle,” Cummings said. “You look back at the history of Canyon and Randall, that’s a huge rivalry and I got to be a part of that at Canyon all those years. We’ve played Canyon two years in a row and split games with them and there’s definitely a development of a rivalry there.
“Obviously with the way our school is and where we drew most of our kids from I think it inherently has a rivalry sense to it. I just think it’s good for the game of football to have healthy rivalries.”
That changes this season, as the two schools will finally jump into their football rivalry in October.
“It’s just going to make everything super competitive being that they’re district ball games, so that adds more to it,” Randall coach Dan Sherwood said. “One thing I really care about is whatever game we’re playing that week so that’s going to be a huge point of emphasis every single week. With those games it’s going to be a packed house down there at Happy State Bank for sure.”
Those packed houses should expect competitive games. Canyon and Randall are established, perennially successful programs, and West Plains reached the state quarterfinals after only two seasons last year.
The presence of West Plains in a district with the two CISD schools along with Dumas, Hereford and Pampa only ups the ante.
“It’s good for football,” Canyon coach Todd Winfrey said. “You have three quality teams who know a lot about each other. What it does is make that 4A district the best in the state of Texas. There are going to be two teams who don’t make the playoffs who are going to be really, really good.”
Until then, there will be plenty of drama.
Friends turned foes
Of course, Randall and West Plains finally being in the same district for football could be the juiciest metro football story of 2024. A good chunk of the kids who helped West Plains to such remarkable early success got their start playing football in the Randall system.
When West Plains opened in the fall of 2022, the Wolves went to District 4-4A along with their fellow CISD schools in all sports except football. There, West Plains competed in Class 4A Division II while Canyon and Randall were in 4A Division I.
Thanks to February’s UIL realignment, though, all the CISD schools are now in Division I for football, meaning West Plains and Randall will finally meet on the gridiron for the first time Oct. 25 at Happy State Bank.
There will be some bragging rights on the line. There could also be a district championship on the line.
“I love the culture it creates around Canyon ISD football,” said Kaidon Breitling, who starts at nose tackle and tight end for West Plains and who started out in the Randall system. “We’ve lot of strong competitors around here and dudes who know what they’re doing and a lot of coaching experience in this district. I think it kind of fires our guys up to be playing guys we’ve known our whole life.”
Friendships may remain, but for at least one week during the season, they’ll take a backseat when the Wolves and Raiders put on their respective uniforms. In late October, those old ties will be put to the test.
“It’s exciting for sure,” said Randall defensive lineman Breken Melton, who has played baseball against West Plains. “We’ve known those kids since they were little and they used to be Raiders with us. We knew it was coming since West Plains was a rumor which turned into the real thing so it’s really exciting.
“It’s intense because we used to be friends with them and now, we really can’t be as fun. It’s a blast though playing those guys.”
Because of the sensitivities which come with being forced to switch allegiances, West Plains and Randall didn’t meet in football the last two years, even though the schools met twice a year in all other team sports. The UIL made sure they couldn’t avoid each other in football for at least the next two years.
For at least a year or two, there will be some mixed emotions swirling around this budding rivalry.
“I know a lot of those kids who are over there and our kids are still friends, because they’ve gone together since grade school, so maybe there is some sentimental value to it, but at the end of the day it’s just another game and it’s a district game at that,” Cummings said. “If you look at how competitive our district is going to be, Randall’s going to be one of the contenders to win our district.”
West Plains should be too, along with Canyon. Randall and Canyon will conclude the regular season against each other Nov. 8.
Sherwood knows all about local rivalries, having played at Amarillo High and coached at Caprock before arriving at Randall last year.
“I wasn’t here for the split (which created West Plains), but it’s common sense that kids are around each other for in a long time in the feeder system get to know each other that way,” Sherwood said. “Of course it’s going to add a little bit of intensity around your friends. Also, we need to be able to not make it more than what it is and be able to play the game the way it’s supposed to be played.”
Where everybody knows your name
For Canyon and Randall, this setup is nothing new. For the last two years they’ve shared a district with Dumas, Hereford and Pampa and West Plains is just another team to be added.
The focus, though, figures to be on the three CISD schools. Winfrey and Cummings were longtime assistants at Canyon under Blake Bryant, so bringing in a third district school into the football schedule looks like a case of the more, the merrier.
“Obviously the CISD thing is going to be really cool,” Winfrey said. “I’ve known coach Sherwood from playing him all those years at Caprock and Adam is one of my best friends. There’s going to be so much familiarity there will all the rivalry stuff, and the good thing for us is we start (district play) with West Plains and end with Randall. It’s good for high school football and it’s good for our community.”
For all the anticipation of Randall and West Plains finally meeting in football, Canyon and West Plains could be developing a rivalry of their own. They met each of the last two seasons and split, with Canyon winning in 2022 and West Plains winning last season.
Adding some fuel to the fire, the two schools met last spring in the region quarterfinal round of the baseball playoffs after splitting their two district games. The Eagles swept the Wolves in a best-of-three series and eventually went to the state tournament.
For Canyon, that might have been some payback for what happened in football, when West Plains beat the Eagles 48-21. Canyon senior running back Colt Cruth, who plays football and baseball, doesn’t think Canyon will need a lot of incentive when his team meets the Wolves on Oct. 11 to open district.
“It makes us want it more for sure,” Cruth said. “(Last year’s loss) definitely left a salty taste in our mouth. Coming back with that, especially in our district, that makes it even more important. Just like Randall, there’s that goat game and now there’s that hog game. It’s going to be just as big I think.”
While Canyon and Randall have been playing for the goat and Canyon and West Plains vying for the hog, there’s nothing official which West Plains and Randall will be playing for in terms of a pride trophy to keep for a year. What will matter most at the end of the night, of course, is what the scoreboard reads.
Sherwood thinks the team that can best transcend that situation will come out on top.
“It’s one of those things where you should be playing your best ball around that time and that makes for a high-quality football game,” he said. “As long as you can stay healthy you’ll see some really good football down there. You can’t be uptight going into a game like that. It’s going to be one of the most unbelievable atmospheres anywhere.”
Something to prove
As the newest kid on the CISD block, West Plains might still inspire some skepticism. Moving up to Class 4A Division I is step up in class and facing their fellow CISD school’s figures to be a major test on a week-to-week basis, along with the other three established 4A D-I teams.
“There’s no doubt our competition level has risen,” Cummings said. “Our past two years with the district we were in, nothing against those guys, but we’re going up a division. You look at the tradition of all those schools and the success they’ve had the last three or four decades, it kind of speaks for itself.
“We’re definitely going to have our hands full each and every week. It makes you proud to be a part of a district which is so competitive.”
West Plains will have to bring some game, but the rest of the district will have to react to that as well. While it’s easy to think the CISD schools will occupy the top three spots by playoff time, there’s no real clear-cut favorite.
Winfrey thinks it comes down to which team and staff best handles the glare of the Happy State lights, literally and figuratively.
“I just feel like up here in the Panhandle a lot of us know each other,” Winfrey said. “That whole Canyon-West Plains and Canyon-Randall just adds to the whole familiarity. You’ve got to be creative and coach your butt off and make sure they don’t know your signals.”
That could be a challenge for Randall against West Plains kids who played in the system and are now on the other side, although Sherwood and his staff weren’t around back then. Breitling said he remains in touch with some Randall players and trying to keep perspective.
“There’s always been a friendship there,” Breitling said. “I’ve known those guys since I was seven years old in flag football. There’s going to be a lot of talk back and forth but at the end of the day it’s just a football game and we’ve got to keep the competitive spirit but keep things clean. This district is definitely a lot tougher so I think that definitely will test us, but I think we like that.”