Randolph will face an uphill battle at Plainview

RANDOLPH — It didn’t hurt that Randolph was on the bubble of the playoffs and then proceeded to cement its future with an emphatic, 41-0, win over Wausa to wrap the regular season on a high note.

Now, they face Plainview,

a team that beat the Cardinals, 50-24, in week two of the season.

“We played them in the first-round last year and in the regular season and beat them both times,” Randolph head coach Mark Lech said. “They are a pretty good opponent. They went through a pretty good winning steak before losing to possibly the state champs, St. Francis, Friday night. We are actually really happy with our draw with this game and the possible next game. The Allen-Wynot score helped us a lot. It got Wynot in and moved us up.

“Plainview and Johnson-Brock are similar in that they beat mostly Division 2 teams and the better teams they played, they got blown out.

Plainview, who beat Randolph on a hot day two months ago, pulled away from a six-point halftime lead to beat the Cardinals.

“They are a finesse team with a lot of throwing and a lot of spread,” Lech said. “They will go no huddle. This is one of the teams we were hoping to draw and with the win and the confidence we have, they just want to play better this time. They know they are not a power team and won’t get beat up.

“If you are not beat before you start, you can get into a certain mode.”

Other side of the bracket:

No. 13 Wynot (3-5) at No. 4 Johnson-Brock (6-2)