Category: Wylie Bulldogs

by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wylie stuns Lubbock Cooper with Senior Night sweep

The Wylie volleyball team entered Tuesday’s District 4-5A volleyball match against Lubbock Cooper with nothing tangible on the line.

The Lady Bulldogs were already locked into the league’s No. 2 playoff seed and a date with Amarillo Caprock in next week’s bi-district round when they took the floor for their Senior Night match against the district champions.

Making matters tougher, the Lady Pirates had only lost one set over the past seven weeks entering their match at Bulldog Gymnasium.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Zephyr running back brings home Player of the Week honors

With some people projecting Zephr as an underdog in last week’s game with Sidney, very few people were expecting ZHS to provide us with the Big Country Preps Player of the Week.

Nonetheless, here we are.

Zephyr senior running back Jayden Millican takes the spotlight after rushing for 285 yards and six touchdowns in a 68-20 win over over Sidney. But he wasn’t finished there.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 2-5A DIV. II WEEK 9 REPORT: Wylie, Cooper and Rider all pick up blowout wins

Wylie 43, Lubbock High 0 — The Bulldogs stayed perfect in district play with a shutout win over the Westerners, outgaining LHS 361-111 in a game they controlled from start to finish.

Wylie (5-3, 3-0) got off to a bit of a slow start, scoring its only first-quarter touchdown with 4:30 remaining in that period, but the Bulldogs led 27-0 by halftime and tacked on 16 more points after the break.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Laine, Carlton help Bulldogs clinch playoff berth with Lubbock High shutout

With the Southtown Showdown looming in two weeks, it would be easy for the Wylie football team to be caught looking ahead to the game that could provide the Bulldogs with an outright district championship.

On Friday night at Hugh Sandifer Stadium, coach Clay Martin’s squad showed that wasn’t the case as the Bulldogs hammered Lubbock High 43-0, moving to 5-3 on the season and 3-0 in District 2-5A Division II play.

The win gave the Bulldogs their highest single-season win total since moving up to Class 5A in the 2018-19 school year.

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by Daniel Youngblood

FEATURE: Senior Borho a rock in the secondary for young Wylie defense

As one of just three returning starters for a young Wylie defense, senior safety Reese Borho has had a lot on his shoulders this season.

Leaned on by coaches and teammates for both his on-field play and leadership, the 6-foot, 185-pound athlete has had to be a steadying force through some tumultuous times for a Bulldogs squad with big aspirations.

With his team sitting at 2-0 in District 2-5A Division II play after a big road win over Wichita Falls Rider last week, Borho has been up to the task thus far. And though Wylie coach Clay Martin has been impressed by the way his safety has taken to his expanded leadership role, the former longtime defensive coordinator has not been surprised by anything he’s seen out of the senior.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Snyder’s Stewart takes the award after big win over Graham

Snyder quarterback Easton Stewart barely makes a dent when he steps on the scale, standing in at 5-foot-8 and only 140 pounds. But the SHS junior was plenty big enough to lead the Tigers to a 35-21 upset over Graham last week at Tiger Stadium. 

Our BCP Player of the Week connected on 27 of 34 pass attempts for 282 yards and five scores and rushed for an additional 30 to lead the Tigers (3-5, 1-1) to a crucial victory. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME REPORT: Wylie rallies from 17-point halftime deficit to knock off Wichita Falls Rider in thriller

WICHITA FALLS — A disastrous end to the first half put the Wylie Bulldogs in a 17-point hole entering the second, but coach Clay Martin’s squad made the plays it needed to down the stretch Friday to complete a thrilling comeback in a 39-38 win over District 2-5A Division II favorite Wichita Falls Rider at Memorial Stadium.

Trailing 27-10 after a series of unfortunate events turned a potential tie game into a three-score deficit, Wylie outscored the Raiders 7-0 in the third quarter and 22-11 in the fourth to improve to 4-3 overall and 2-0 in league action.

The Bulldogs scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes and got a two-point conversion run from Malachi Daniels with 1:03 remaining for what proved to be the game-winning points. Braden Regala ensured that moments later, intercepting a deep ball on the Raiders’ final possession to seal the upset victory.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie cools off rival Cooper in hard-fought sweep

The Wylie volleyball team downed a surging Cooper squad 25-21, 25-23, 25-22 on Tuesday at Cougar Gym to complete a season sweep of the Lady Cougars and improve to 4-0 this season in matches against crosstown foes.

CHS had won four of its last five matches coming into the rematch with the Lady Bulldogs, including a thrilling five-set win over Abilene High on Friday, but coach Shay Cox’s team cooled off the Lady Coogs, executing down the stretch in all three sets to complete a hard-fought sweep.

The victory put Wylie (21-16 overall, 6-2 in district) in the driver’s seat for the No. 2 playoff seed out of District 4-5A — 1½ matches ahead of third-place AHS (14-19, 5-4) and 2½ matches ahead of fourth-place Cooper (15-18, 4-5) with four league matches remaining.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Cisco’s Long takes our top spot after huge night vs. Olney

With a difficult Olney team paying them a visit on Friday, the Cisco Loboes could ill afford a misstep in their quest to win District 4-2A Division I — not with Stamford and Hawley still on their plate. 

Cisco turned to veteran quarterback Hunter Long to get the job done and our Big Country Preps Player of the Week responded with an eye-popping 338 yards rushing and five touchdowns on 20 carries to help Cisco (6-1, 3-0) to a 34-15 win.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 2-5A DIV. II WEEK 7 REPORT: Wylie, Rider and Palo Duro open league play with wins

Wylie 38, Plainview 14 — WHS overcame a slow start to earn a comfortable win, scoring the final 28 points in a rout of Plainview.

Trailing 14-10 midway through the second quarter, Wylie (3-3, 1-0) scored the final touchdown of the first half to take a 17-14 lead into the break, before tacking on three more touchdowns in the third quarter to put the finishing touches on a thorough victory.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Quarterback Long, defense lead Wylie to win over Plainview in district opener

With three straight wins over Plainview and a matchup next week with state-ranked Wichita Falls Rider on the horizon, the Wylie football team could have been caught looking ahead in a classic trap game on Friday night.

Instead, quarterback KJ Long directed the high-powered Wylie offense to a 38-14 win over Plainview in the District 2-5A Division II opener for both teams at Hugh Sandifer Stadium while the Wylie defense had one of its best showings of the year.

Getting district play started with such a dominant effort over a team that it had shut out the previous two years was something that Wylie coach Clay Martin was happy to see with several big games ahead.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie holds off feisty Abilene High squad at home, takes sole possession of second in 4-5A

Hosting Abilene High with sole possession of second place in the District 4-5A standings on the line, the Wylie volleyball team held off a scrappy Lady Eagle effort for a 25-22, 26-28, 25-14, 25-20 victory Tuesday night at Bulldog Gym.

The Lady Bulldogs played most of the night with a lead, holding a double-digit advantage in three of the four games in the contest — a rematch of a Wylie’s 25-14, 25-22, 25-13 win Sept. 9 at Abilene High. But The Lady Eagles made WHS work much harder for Tuesday night’s victory, nearly rallying to force a fifth set.

As it was, the Lady Bulldogs improved to 20-16 on the year and 5-2 in district play, while Abilene High fell to 13-18 overall and 4-3 in league action with five more matches remaining in the regular season.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie earns gritty home sweep over Coronado, pulls into second place in 4-5A standings

The Wylie volleyball team pulled into second place in the District 4-5A standings Tuesday, overtaking Abilene High with a 25-23, 25-23, 25-13 win over Lubbock Coronado at Bulldog Gym.

The Lady Bulldogs, who entered the day one-half match back of the Lady Eagles in the league race, improved to 19-15 overall and 4-1 in league play, while AHS (13-17 overall) fell to 4-2 in 4-5A action with a 25-22, 25-19, 25-20 loss to district leader Lubbock Cooper (27-4, 5-0).

Thanks to Tuesday’s win, which saw Wylie rally in Games 1 and 2 before finally taking control in the third set, the Lady Bulldogs will now travel on Friday to take on Lubbock Cooper with a share of the district lead on the line.

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by Evan Ren

CAPITAL FARM CREDIT/BCP PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior from tiny Stephenville Three Way lands this week’s award

Some people in the Big Country may not even know where tiny Three Way High School is. 

For the record it’s on the outskirts of Stephenville, it plays in District 11-1A DI (six-man) and if our Big Country Preps Player of the Week has any say about it, you’ll be hearing a lot more about the Braves in the near future. 

Colt Berry, a senior spreadback, had an eye-popping performance last week in a 73-54 win over Aquilla, amassing 561 all-purpose yards to help the Braves (1-3) to their first win of the year. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 2-5A DIV. II WEEK 5 RECAP: Wylie drops heartbreaker in San Angelo as league goes 1-5

San Angelo Central 63, Wylie 61 — The Bulldogs dropped heartbreaker, allowing a 40-yard touchdown pass on the final play of the game to fall to the Bobcats in their final nondistrict game.

Wylie (2-3) rallied from a two-touchdown deficit to take a 54-49 lead in the fourth quarter and answered a Central touchdown with what appeared to be a game-winning scoring drive with just 19 seconds remaining in the game. But after evading a potential sack, Bobcat quarterback Tyler Hill hit Ben Imler, who split a pair of Wylie defenders at the 10-yard line to turn a 61-57 deficit into a two-point win. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME REPORT: Central hits Hail Mary on game’s final play to edge Wylie 63-61

SAN ANGELO — The Wylie football team piled up yards and points Friday night in its final nondistrict game against San Angelo Central. But in the end, it wasn’t enough as the Bobcats had a prayer answered on the final play of the game to edge the Bulldogs 63-61 at San Angelo Stadium.

With 40 yards to cover and one play to do it, Central quarterback Tyler Hill escaped what appeared to be a sure sack and retreated more than 20 yards into the backfield before heaving a Hail Mary to Ben Imler. Imler made a leaping catch near the sideline at the 10, split a pair of Wylie defenders and sprinted across the field to the end zone for the game-winning score.

That touchdown was the last of many wild momentum swings in a crazy game that saw the Bulldogs drop to 2-3 with their third consecutive one-score loss.

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Young Wylie squad working to build consistency as district play ramps up

Last year, the Wylie volleyball team finished the season perched on hallowed ground, setting/spiking/toughing its way to a 32-14 record en route to the Region I-5A quarterfinals. 

For those keeping score at home, that’s three rounds deep in the playoffs — marking the program’s deepest run since making the jump to Class 5A.

While coach Shay Cox appreciated the accomplishment of her very bulldog-ish Lady Bulldogs, she also knew every time she reviewed the list of the 2021 graduating players that replicating that kind of success and sustaining the momentum this season was going to be a tall order.

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by Daniel Youngblood

DISTRICT 2-5A DIV. II WEEK 4 REPORT: Cooper wins wild one, Wylie drops shootout as league posts 1-5 record

Cooper 33, Lubbock Coronado 28 — The Cougars hit a 64-yard touchdown pass with less than a minute remaining to edge the Mustangs in a wild one.

Cooper led 27-7 at halftime, but Coronado (1-3) came all the way back in the second half to take a 28-27 lead in the fourth quarter. Down to their final possession after forcing a punt with less than two minutes remaining, the Cougars got a long touchdown pass from Chris Warren to Jaylen Parker that was tipped by a defender before being caught for the winning score.

Cooper finished with 376 yards of total offense, led by Warren, who passed for 334 yards with five touchdowns to five different players. Coronado, which finished with 298 yards, was paced by quarterback Jett Carroll, who passed for 158 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for a team-high 47 yards and two more scores.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Maruska, Stephenville hold off Wylie in offensive shootout

For the second straight week, the Wylie football team went toe to toe with an outstanding opponent at Hugh Sandifer Stadium. But for the second straight week, the Bulldogs came up one touchdown short of a signature win.

Hosting Class 4A Division I No. 1 Stephenville a week after falling 33-28 to Lubbock Cooper, coach Clay Martin’s team topped the 500-yard mark for the second time in as many weeks. But it couldn’t contain Tate Maruska and the Yellow Jackets offense in a 56-49 loss.

Maruska, who came into Friday’s game with a Big Country-leading 773 yards and nine touchdowns rushing, ran for 270 yards and five scores against the Bulldogs to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark in just four games and fuel the unbeaten Jackets to a thrilling win.

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by Daniel Youngblood

FEATURE: Deep receiving corps proving to be major strength for explosive Wylie offense

Many high school quarterbacks would be happy to have one or two go-to receivers they can trust and depend on in pressure situations to make plays.

Wylie’s K.J. Long feels like he has four or five of those.

Blessed with the deepest and most talented receiving corps the Bulldogs have had in years, Long has led an offense that has averaged 470.7 yards and 29.3 points per game through the first three weeks of the season. And while a running game that is chewing up 243 yards per outing has played a significant role in WHS’ offensive success, the senior quarterback gives his pass-catchers a lot of credit for the team’s newfound explosiveness.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS GAME OF THE WEEK: Brownwood entertains red hot Glen Rose (w/ Evan Ren’s Big Country picks)

LAST WEEK: 51-10, .836
SEASON TOTAL: 131-42, .757

Football picks are something I take pride in and it irritates me to no end when I stink it up. So let’s just say, I burned some midnight oil to get that situation corrected last week. 

As a result, the column recovered with a solid .836 percentage in Week 3, salvaging my bruised ego after a disastrous Week 2 tally. In all, 51 of 61 area picks hit the mark last week, elevating my season’s record above 75 percent. 

That’s more like it.

Week 4 in the meantime, presents a lineup of some of the most difficult area picks we’ve had this season — including an explosive Glen Rose team facing Brownwood in our BCP Game of the Week. Let’s dive in, shall we? 

Here’s this week’s forecast: 

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