Bridwell leads Hereford past Randall

Two teams headed in opposite directions crossed paths Friday night at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium, and the final result between Hereford and Randall confirmed it.

Hereford heads into the bye week next week with an unblemished mark, as the Whitefaces used all the familiar components, leaning on quarterback Parker Bridwell to spark a 42-15 rout of Randall. At 5-0, the Herd heads into the bye week prior to opening District 4-4A play with a head of steam.

"Our goal was to come out of this part of our season 5-0 and we did it," Hereford coach Don DeLozier said. "I think it was just a matter of us responding to the challenge before us."

The good news for Randall (0-5) is that there's now a week off to lick some wounds as the Raiders prepare for their District 3-4A schedule. It's possible they won't face anybody of Hereford's caliber the remainder of the season.

The formula was familar and successful for Hereford, especially in the first half: Let Bridwell have the ball and see what he can do with it.

On the first play from scrimmage, Bridwell kept the ball on an option after faking to Daymien Garcia and went around the left side. He got a block, cut to the outside, then reversed field when it looked like he was hemmed in and sprinted across the field for a 71-yard touchdown which made a huge statement, giving the Herd a 7-0 lead.

"It was a zone read play so I had to read the back zone end," Bridwell said. "I heard (Randall's) line starting to cheer because they thought they tackled the guy who had the ball.''

Bridwell hurt Randall the way he's hurt most of Hereford's opponents this season the rest of the way, by throwing the ball. He threw for 136 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, a 27-yarder to Johnathan Davis and a 31-yarder to Chase Yosten with 27 seconds left in the first half to send Hereford to the half with a 28-7 lead.

While Bridwell completed 14-of-23 passes for 191 yards and three scores, the big news was his rushing numbers. He led the Herd with 110 yards on 10 carries and scored two touchdowns. Thanks mostly to the first play, Bridwell's rushing total was a career high.

"With that very first play it's what our running backs have made all of their yardage on this year," DeLozier said. "It was a good read and (Bridwell) had that option to run with it."

There were actually two 100-yard rushers in the game, as Randall's Bryce Ballard had 187 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. That was a bright spot for the Raiders, who have struggled offensively.

"We keep doing the same things over and over," coach Bryan Wood said. "(The Whitefaces) are good football team, but we did a lot to hurt ourselves. Whenever you play a team like Hereford they're going to exploit some things."

The bottom line for anybody in 4-4A might be that they're going to have to bring their best game to beat Hereford.

"There will be a lot of talk about a lot of the people who are coming to play in Hereford, but we've got to take care of the Hereford Whitefaces before anything else," DeLozier said.

Hereford 14 14 7 7 -42

Randall 0 7 0 8 -15

Hereford _ Parker Bridwell 71 run (Bridwell kick)

Hereford _ Johnathan Davis 27 pass from Bridwell (Bridwell kick)

Hereford _ Daymien Garcia 2 run (Bridwell kick)

Randall _ Bryce Ballard 2 run (Norton kick)

Hereford _ Chase Yosten 31 pass from Bridwell (Bridwell kick)

Hereford _ Bridwell 2 run (Bridwell kick)

Hereford _ Davis 11 pass from Bridwell (Bridwell kick)

Randall _ Leighton Tapia 15 pass from Hunter Alford (Trenton Huseman pass from Alford)

Hereford Randall

First Downs 19 12

Rushing 163 175

Passing 191 61

Total yards 354 236

C-A-I 14-24-0 10-18-0

Punts 3-30.0 7-29.9

Fumbles-lost 3-1 2-0

Penalties 2-10 4-34

Individual Statistics

Rushing - Hereford: Bridwell 10-110, Garcia 7-38, Jose Uvalle 11-14, Joe Morrison 1-2, Ryan Martinez 1-(-1). Randall: Ballard 26-187, Anthony Garcia 2-4, Alford 2-(-9), Jordan Smith 4-(-11), Zack Costancio 1-3, Tapia 1-(-4), Mason Pierce 1-5.

Passing - Hereford: Bridwell 14-23-0-191. Randall: Alford 7-12-0-46, Smith 3-6-0-15.

Receiving - Hereford: Zack Lopez 3-25, Christian Garza 1-18, Davis 6-82, Garcia 2-20, Yosten 1-31, Tanner Shelton 1-15. Randall: Todd Hartley 4-19, Skylar Moseley 1-7, Tapia 5-35.

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