For the first time since 2014 the Randolph Cardinals are Section VI Class D champions, beating the Franklinville/Ellicottville Titans 26-0 at Highmark Stadium on Friday night. The win propels the Cardinals into the New York Western Regional finals, where they’ll face the Section V Class D champions.
Randolph, a younger team with just four seniors on the roster, came a long way since going 1-4 in the shortened spring season that included two losses to the Titans. It’s something that wasn’t missed by coach Brent Brown.
“This group played as freshmen together and lost to CSP two years ago in the playoffs,” Brown said. “They’ve been on the other side before, saw what it takes, and they didn’t want that again.”
For junior running back Xander Hind, the win makes the long drive from the southern tier that much sweeter.
“It just feels awesome,” Hind, who finished with three touchdowns and 143 total yards on the night said. “It showed how much practice pays off. We practiced like we haven’t any other year. We came in like we wanted to work, and it showed in the games.”
The Titans were competitive early, keeping Randolph out of the endzone in the opening quarter. Unfortunately, however, the power and strength of the Cardinals proved to be a bit too much for Franklinville/Ellicottville to handle as the game wore on.
“That’s what you do when you run the ball,” Brown said. “We did throw a touchdown pass today; you don’t see that out of us much. But, they made us work for it [despite the score].”
The second quarter saw Randolph break through on a 29-yard reception by Hind from quarterback Carson Conley 12 seconds into the frame. Randolph would add two more scores from Hind and senior Josh Bush to take a commanding 18-0 lead at half.
The Cardinals would add one more score in the fourth quarter on another Hind run to get to the 26-0 final score.
Defensively, Randolph held Franklinville/Ellicottville to just five first downs and 85 total yards of offense, including just 16 in the second half. On offense, Randolph tallied 276 yards with only 29 coming through the air.
“It showed how bad we wanted it,” Hind said of the team’s ability to wear the Titans throughout the game. “Our defense was on point. Our offense was awesome. We had more people involved all game.”
With his team chanting behind him at midfield, Brown couldn’t help but smile when talking about what completing an unbeaten Section VI season means for the program.
“They worked for it, and they deserve this.”
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