Randle runs past Huntsville in regular season closer
Nov. 2—RICHMOND — With one final tune-up before postseason play, Huntsville made the trip down to Traylor Stadium to face Richmond Randle to close out the regular season.
With the two-seed and a home playoff game on the line, Randle's freshman running back Landen William-Callis took over the game from the jump, as the Hornet offense failed to move the ball.
Randle relied heavily on the legs of William-Callis. The freshman was unstoppable and rushed for 262 yards against the Hornet defense, scoring four touchdowns.
The Lions grabbed the 35-6 win over the Hornets to close out the regular season, as both teams are headed to the Class 5A, DII playoffs.
"We didn't get enough first downs, especially in the first half," Huntsville head coach Rodney Southern said. "Their running back is as good as I thought he was. He made three really big plays. I think that was the difference in the game."
The first half for Huntsville looked eerily similar to the second half against Lake Creek. The Hornets didn't see a first down until the second quarter from a pass interference call gave the Hornets a fresh set of downs, keeping the defense on the field.
With a tired defense, William-Callis was able to run free in the first half. Randle saw a 28-0 lead at the half that Huntsville had no signs of slowing down from the break.
The Lion run game was the real difference. Randle was able to run the ball up the gut as they tallied over 300 yards on the ground against the Huntsville defense. As the run game was established, Randle saw sophomore quarterback Tyler Skrabanek find receivers too.
"I think some of it was tackling and some of it was playing a lot of snaps. When you don't get first downs and your three-and-out, it's going to be difficult to beat anybody," Southern said.
Randle established its run game, but Huntsville could not. With sophomore Trae'Shawn Brown out, junior Braylon Phelps had to take the starting role but he never found the hole. On 15 attempts, Phelps added 26 yards on the ground.
Southern elected sophomore quarterback Markcus Lewis to start for a second consecutive game, and he saw some struggles early. Lewis started the game 0-8 through the air missing his receivers by mere inches each time. With the ball just floating over the fingertips, the drives were ending just as fast as they would start.
The Hornets had four three-and-outs in the first half that gave the ball back to Randle with decent field position.
With a 35-point deficit in the fourth quarter, Huntsville turned to junior Austin Taylor to play behind an offensive line that struggled to block the Lion defense for a majority of the game.
Taylor came in and led a scoring drive but saw similar woes to Lewis. A few of Taylor's passes floated by, but he was able to connect with junior Savion Conteh for a 15-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the endzone to avoid the shutout.
"We have to be able to run the ball. We looked at different combinations on the offensive line, and we may have to look at a different combination," Southern said. "I knew coming in Randle was a good football team. They physically beat us tonight, especially on the line of scrimmage."
With the loss, Huntsville has become the three-seed out of District 10, 5A DII. The Hornets will lose out on a home playoff game, but in return will likely avoid Fort Bend Marshall, a team that has bested them three times in the postseason.
Huntsville will have its playoff team determined during Friday's slate of games as Texas City and
Nederland will square off. The winner of that game will likely host the Hornets in the Bi-District round of the Class 5A, DII playoffs.
But all Huntsville can do now is put this game behind them and prepare for the postseason.
"You have to put this to the side because now it is single elimination," Southern said. "We knew what that scenario was."
