<\/p>\n
Landen Williams-Callis rushed for 235 yards in Randle’s win over Dallas South Oak Cliff on Friday and moved within one touchdown of the Houston-area record.<\/p>\n
Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
PRAIRIE VIEW \u2014 State championships aren\u2019t won in the heat and humidity of late August.<\/p>\n
Brian Randle and his players have a more lucid understanding of that reality than most. The Randle High School football program<\/a> has ended each of its past two seasons with a high-stakes game right before Christmas.<\/p>\n With 16 more weeks remaining before the UIL hands out its gold-plated plaques in Arlington, the Lions are embracing the journey. They\u2019re calling this season \u201cThe Reckoning,\u201d and it\u2019s started with a momentous victory.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n This campaign was never going to be about one opponent. Randle is simply 1-0 after Friday night\u2019s 20-14 triumph against Dallas powerhouse South Oak Cliff. But in a rubber match between the programs that have faced off for the past two Class 5A Division II state titles, taking care of the Golden Bears was the first order of business.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, we had to break the tie,\u201d said Randle, whose team avenged a 35-19 loss from last December\u2019s championship game<\/a> and is now in Class 5A Division I. \u201cWe had to break the tie. It\u2019s funny because I love what Dallas does. I love what\u00a0SOC does. But their fans, they talk a lot. So it feels good to have bragging rights for another 12 months until we meet again.\u201d<\/p>\n FAB 50: Meet Houston’s top football players for 2026 season<\/a><\/p>\n Friday\u2019s game put Randle star running back Landen Williams-Callis<\/a> on the precipice of history. The five-star Texas commit rushed for 235 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries, scoring from 20 and 21 yards out, respectively. As he strolled into the purple-turfed north end zone at Panther Stadium late in the third quarter, the win started to feel inevitable. As the team now turns the page to a non-district matchup at home against Westfield next week, Williams-Callis is just one touchdown shy of tying the Houston area\u2019s all-time record. The only man left in front of him is his cousin Jacquizz Rodgers<\/a>, who scored 136 times for Lamar Consolidated and played in the NFL for eight seasons.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n For Williams-Callis, Friday\u2019s performance was just another day at the office. It was the 41st time in 46 career games that he\u2019s rushed for more than 100 yards. It was also his 15th career 200-yard game.<\/p>\n \u201cHe made the plays when he needed to,\u201d Randle said of Williams-Callis, who averaged 16.8 carries per game over his first three seasons. \u201cIt\u2019s not like we gave him the ball 40-plus times. You give it to him 40 times, ain\u2019t no telling how many yards he has. We\u2019re still going to take care of the kid, and I\u2019m proud of the kid. He\u2019s a captain, and it\u2019s his team. He\u2019s a four-year letterman and a four-year starter. Think how rare that is. Proud of him.\u201d<\/p>\n Randle defensive back Cam Wade breaks up a pass intended for South Oak Cliff wide receiver Tristen Moore during the second half of a high school football game at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Friday, August. 28, 2026.<\/p>\n Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle Randle linebacker Kyron Cooley reacts after sacking South Oak Cliff quarterback Jayden Williams during the second half of a high school football game at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Friday, August. 28, 2026.<\/p>\n Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle Randle running back Landen William-Callis reacts after running for a 20-yard touchdown during the first half of a high school football game at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Friday, August. 28, 2026.<\/p>\n Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle Randle running back Landen William-Callis reacts after running for a 20-yard touchdown during the first half of a high school football game at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Friday, August. 28, 2026.<\/p>\n Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle Randle running back Landen William-Callis runs for a 20-yard touchdown during the first half of a high school football game at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Friday, August. 28, 2026.<\/p>\n Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle Randle head coach Brian Randle is seen during the first half of a high school football game at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Friday, August. 28, 2026.<\/p>\n Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle Randle running back Jamarion Jones runs the ball during the first half of a high school football game at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Friday, August. 28, 2026.<\/p>\n Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle Randle defensive end Jamari Levi reacts after making a tackle during the first half of a high school football game at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Friday, August. 28, 2026.<\/p>\n Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle Randle head coach Brian Randle reacts after the team failed to convert on third down in their opening two drives during the first half of a high school football game at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Friday, August. 28, 2026.<\/p>\n Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle Randle running back Laden Williams-Callis runs past South Oak Cliff linebacker Cody Smith during the first half of a high school football game at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Friday, August. 28, 2026.<\/p>\n Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle South Oak Cliff linebacker Cody Smith breaks up a pass intended for Randle running back Laden Williams-Callis during the first half of a high school football game at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Friday, August. 28, 2026.<\/p>\n Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle Randle running back and Texas commit Landen William-Callis warms up before a high school football game at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Friday, August. 28, 2026.<\/p>\n Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle Randle running back and Texas commit Landen William-Callis warms up before a high school football game at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Friday, August. 28, 2026.<\/p>\n Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle Randle running back and Texas commit Landen William-Callis warms up before a high school football game at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Friday, August. 28, 2026.<\/p>\n Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle Members of the Randle High School band gather before a high school football game at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Friday, August. 28, 2026.<\/p>\n Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle Members of the Randle High School band gather before a high school football game at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Friday, August. 28, 2026.<\/p>\n Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle Randle trombone player Dominion Okeh prepares his instrument before a high school football game at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Friday, August. 28, 2026.<\/p>\n Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle Randle trombone player Dominion Okeh prepares his instrument before a high school football game at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Friday, August. 28, 2026.<\/p>\n Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle Silas Morales, left, and his brother, Elisha, take out flags before a high school football game at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Friday, August. 28, 2026.<\/p>\n Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle Silas Morales, left, and his brother, Elisha, take out flags before a high school football game at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Friday, August. 28, 2026.<\/p>\n Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n Randle wasn\u2019t always able to sustain drives offensively against SOC, and with three turnovers, the showing was less-than-ideal against a stout opponent across the line of scrimmage. But Williams-Callis, as he often has during his vaunted high school career, gave the Lions enough juice to emerge with the victory.<\/p>\n The theme of the night was \u201cresolve,\u201d according to Randle. He saw it with how Williams-Callis kept ripping off chunks of yardage, moving the chains and wearing down the defense. But he also saw it with how his defense rose to the occasion and mostly kept in check an SOC offense that had gotten the better of the Lions in the past.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest thing is, and we always talk about this: I don\u2019t care what you know. What can you get those kids to do?\u201d Randle said. \u201cYou can be the smartest coach in the world, but if you can\u2019t get those kids to execute, then what are you doing? So that was a big thing tonight with the defense, and they took care of business.\u201d<\/p>\n Randle praised defensive coordinator Preston Rambo and the rest of the assistant coaches on that side of the ball for how the unit performed against the No. 1-ranked team in Class 5A Division II. The Lions limited SOC to just 44 yards of total offense in the first half and kept the explosive plays to a minimum, the only real slipup coming on a 60-yard touchdown pass with just under a minute remaining that made the game tighter at the end.<\/p>\n In a game that featured helmets flying through the air on more than a couple occasions, Randle was able to set the tone and make plays in the big moments. Those included a fumble recovery from Jamori Levi and a game-sealing sack from Walen Rebector as SOC was desperately trying to make something happen on the final drive.<\/p>\n \u201cWe knew we lost last year because we weren\u2019t being physical,\u201d said senior cornerback Patrick Oliver, a UTEP commit. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t tackle for real. So as soon as we lost that game, tackling and being physical was our focus.\u201d<\/p>\n With the first step of the mission complete, Randle wants his team to remain vigilant of the long-term goal. Asked about how the win over SOC could help propel his Lions, he started thinking about the next opponent.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The grind doesn\u2019t stop. Even for a coach whose program is now 43-3 since the beginning of the 2023 season.<\/p>\n \u201cNow we\u2019ve just got to make sure we don\u2019t stub our toe,\u201d Randle said. \u201cWe get to ride high from this, but now we\u2019ve got Westfield. Westfield has one of the best defenses in the city. SOC had a great defense, but Westfield has a phenomenal defense, too. So it\u2019s going to be interesting. We\u2019re going to have to make them work.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Landen Williams-Callis rushed for 235 yards in Randle’s win over Dallas South Oak Cliff on Friday and moved…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420086,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[56,58,57],"class_list":["post-420085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n
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