Coming into the season, Wylie had one defensive lineman with significant varsity experience, and that showed at times during the team’s scrimmage against a big and physical Odessa High squad.

The progress made between that outing and last Friday’s opener against Georgetown, however, has both the players and their coaches optimistic about that group’s future.

While the final score — a 31-7 defeat — may not indicate it, the Bulldogs front held its own against a talented Eagle line, limiting Georgetown’s explosive offense to just 3.6 yards per rush attempt while sacking quarterback Jackson Sioson twice and using pressure to force a number of throws into coverage.

The key now is to build on that growth.

Georgetown 31, Wylie 7 — Struggles in the red zone and a couple of near misses on long pass plays kept this game from being closer than than the final tally, but the Bulldogs have some positives to build on after their season-opening loss to the Eagles.

Though it was unable to move the ball consistently, amassing just 186 total yards, Wylie was competitive with a ranked Class 5A Division I team for a half and could have put some real pressure on Georgetown had it been able to capitalize on a handful of really strong scoring chances.

As it was, however, Jaden Speegle‘s 97-yard kickoff return generated the only points for coach Hugh Sandifer‘s team, which also got 108 total yards (85 rushing; 23 receiving) from Bailey Hicks.