RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
A powerful first-half surge propelled Randolph High to a 52-0 football win over Brooks Academy last weekend.
The Ro-Hawks (2-5 overall, 1-3 District 27-2A) got four touchdowns from senior tailback Deron Terrell and snapped a four-game losing streak.
"Even with the big margin of victory, the thing we liked most, as coaches, was to see that the players showed effort from the outset," said Pete Wesp, Randolph head coach. "They knew our opponent was struggling but they kept the focus and high effort. Our team understands that we need to win our remaining games in order to make the playoffs."
Brooks Academy (0-7, 0-4) dressed out just 15 players and has been challenged from week to week during the school's first year to field a grid team.
"Every time we go out it's a fun time because our kids never quit and they enjoy competing," said Brooks Academy head coach Ron House. "We had 11 freshmen out there and they knew it would be tough, but they don't ever give up. Randolph is a young team, too, but you can see they are getting better and better."
Randolph scored early and often to the delight of a large Homecoming crowd at Mickler Stadium and the outing amounted to a tune-up for this week's game with the Harper High Longhorns.
"Harper (1-2, 5-2) is a team we've scrimmaged with the past eight seasons, so we know all the coaches and are familiar with the formations they use," Wesp said.
Randolph will see I-formation sets and a dose of the spread offense when Harper comes to town for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. The Longhorns feature a 240-pound running back and a strong overall ground game that Wesp expects to test his defense.
Against Brooks, the Ro-Hawks got 101 rushing yards and the four scores from Terrell.
Quarterback Nic Walters hooked up with Kyle McNally for a 73-yard touchdown pass play and Walters had an additional score with an eight-yard run.
"We played lots of people and gave some different people a chance to make some plays," Wesp said.
Backup quarterback Matt Atwell found the endzone with a 19-yard run after Brandon Macon had caught a 16-yard TD pass from Walters.
Defensively, RHS got 10 tackles and two fumble recoveries from linebacker Justin Collette. Cesar Ledesma had seven stops and caused two fumbles. Both players registered a pair of tackles for losses against the Brooks offense and Wesp said several RHS players recorded tackles in the runaway win.
After the game with Harper, the Ro-Hawks close the regular season with a road game at Johnson City then a home finale against rival Cole High.