West Plains routs Randall in historic win, takes sole possession of District 2-4A Division I lead

In terms of just about everything, the West Plains Wolves showed they belonged Friday night at Happy State Bank Stadium.

By the end of the evening, in fact, you could say they owned the place, even if not quite literally.

Any doubts about the ability of West Plains to compete in District 2-4A Division I have been completely erased, especially when it comes to the fellow Canyon ISD schools.

Not only did the Wolves complete the season sweep of their CISD rivals, the grabbed first place alone atop the district by routing Randall 43-21 in the first football meeting between the two schools.

The Wolves (5-3, 2-0 in district) knocked Randall (7-1, 2-1) out of the ranks of the unbeaten in no uncertain terms, dominating from the start in every manner imaginable.

The magic number to make the playoffs for the Wolves in their first year competing in 4A DI after playing their first two years in 4A DII is now one, as they only need to win one of their last two games to reach the playoffs for the third straight season.

It might not have been a shock that West Plains won, but the relative ease of the victory had to raise a few eyebrows.

“I knew that if our kids executed like they were capable of, we really didn’t know what their limitations were,” West Plains coach Adam Cummings said. “I’m a bit surprised but I’m not surprised. I’ve got all the belief in the world in our kids and they showed it tonight.”

West Plains dominated from the start in every phase by taking a 23-0 halftime lead.

Randall immediately got in a hole after being held to a three-and-out following the opening kickoff. The Raiders were forced to punt under the shadow of their goalposts and the ball was snapped out of the end zone for a safety to give the Wolves a 2-0 lead before their offense even took the field.

That was a harbinger of things to come for Randall.

“Am I shocked by certain things? Yes,” said Randall coach Dan Sherwood of how the game unfolded for his team. “We could have done some things better but at the end of the day we have next week and our destiny is in our own hands. You flush a win, you flush a loss and we’re moving on. You can’t put it all one play or any other play, it was a culmination of things.”

West Plains got a short field after the ensuing free kick and took advantage of it. They finished the drive when Reid Macon flipped a short pass in the flat to Kane White-Tinsley, who did the rest in taking the ball into the end zone for a 13-yard score to make it 9-0.

Randall’s previously prolific offense, meanwhile, struggled mightily, as the Raiders didn’t tally a first down until the final minutes of the first half. West Plains stopped them on downs in their own end of the field once, as Randall had a particularly tough time getting a running game going.

The Wolves had little such problem moving the ball in the first half, scoring twice on runs in the second quarter. Slade Russell scored on a 2-yard run, and less than three minutes later, after Brody Tupin’s interception set them up in Randall territory, Macon kept it on a 36-yard run to make it 23-0.

Macon, only a junior, looked very much like the three-year starter he is, completing 16-of-18 passes for 164 yards and running for 51 yards.

“On film it showed that we aired it out a lot but recently our O-line’s done a great job of run blocking and letting Slade and I carry the ball,” Macon said. “When we’re running the ball it opens up passes and it gets defenses on their toes.”

Randall finally showed some signs of life offensively near the end of the half, moving the ball down to the West Plains 16-yard line in the final minute. However, penalties forced the Raiders back, and a 51-yard field goal attempt by Jacob Avalos fell well short of the mark to end the half.

West Plains got the kickoff to start the second half and made sure the outcome was a mere formality. Russell ran for a pair of touchdowns each from three yards out in the quarter on the first two possessions of the second half to make it 36-0 and end all illusions that Randall could get back in the game.

It was a big running night for Russell, who had 107 yards on 22 carries.

The Raiders got on the board in the third quarter when Kaison Benton hit Phoenix Sherwood on a 67-yard scoring pass and with 5:21 left in the game, Benton scored on a 4-yard run to cut it to 36-14. However, the ensuing kickoff perfectly encapsulated how the night went for both teams.

Randall tried an onside kick which failed to go 10 yards, so Tupin scooped it up and went practically untouched for a 49-yard score to make it 43-14 and spoil all thoughts of a miracle finish.

“I think it was a really good nail in the coffin just to say it’s over,” Tupin said. “West Plains is here to stay. I’m really happy that I got that opportunity. Any district win is very significant in our program, and we just try to win that game every week.”

The Wolves are clearly in the driver’s seat in terms of winning the district and earning the No. 1 playoff seed. If they were a professional team they would be like a third year expansion franchise who instantly became a playoff contender.

Beating Randall, though, was particularly special. When West Plains opened over two years ago, a huge chunk of the students there came over from Randall, making a rivalry only natural.

Friday night, the new kids showed the established ones a thing or two. Macon and some of his teammates wore black nasal strips over their noses which read “Prove ’em wrong.”
There wasn’t much left to prove after Friday night.

“There’s a lot of doubters out there and it’s a good slogan,” Macon said. “That’s what we did tonight.”

Cummings said that the magnitude of the win hadn’t fully sunk in when it ended. Perhaps that’s why the Wolves weren’t treating it like their Super Bowl because they know there’s more to come.

“That’s the beauty of our team,” Cummings said. “They’re going to enjoy this and they’re going to celebrate but they’re going to go back to work tomorrow. I know these kids and that’s what they do and what makes them so special. I fully anticipate us to get ready to go and face Dumas next week.”

Randall, on the other hand, has a short week to get ready to host Pampa next Thursday while still smarting from no longer being perfect. The good news for the Raiders is that they still control what happens the rest of the way.

Sherwood knows his team now has to deal with improving on a rough performance.

“We just put ourselves in bad situations too many times,” Sherwood said. “It starts with me. I’ve got to do a better job and make our kids better. We got humbled tonight.”

Benton ended up with a respectable night statistically, completing 17-of-26 passes for 240 yards, although most of that yardage came well after the game was decided. Regardless, it couldn’t make up for a running game which produced only 74 yards, as leading rusher Dylan Ray never got going, picking up only 24 yards on 18 carries.