Photos by Susanna Jackson, HubCityPreps.com
Wylie 49, Lubbock Monterey 3 — Jadin Karleskint passed for 252 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs to a runaway win over the Plainsmen.
Blaze Ruffin (4-124, 3 TDs) and Jackston Williams (4-108, 1 TD) both eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark in the win, which saw the Bulldogs explode for 42 unanswered points in the first half.
Photos by Susanna Jackson, HubCityPreps.com
LUBBOCK — The Wylie football team bounced back from its season-opening setback against Brownwood with one of the most dominant performances in the Big Country on Friday, blasting Lubbock Monterey 49-3 to even its season record at 1-1.
The Bulldogs outgained the Plainsmen 487-174, building a 42-0 lead by halftime on their way to the blowout victory.
Quarterback Jadin Karleskint led the offensive effort, completing 15 of 17 passes for 252 yards and four touchdowns, while the WHS defense limited Monterey to just 44 yards rushing on 23 attempts and a 10-of-24 tally in the passing game.
Two local volleyball teams in the midst of outstanding seasons met Thursday, when Class 5A No. 11 Wylie hosted Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools Class 3A contender Abilene Christian.
In the end, the Lady Bulldogs were too much for the Lady Panthers, earning a 25-14, 25-8, 25-9 sweep, but both teams left Bulldog Gym feeling good about the effort they put into the match and their chances of achieving their broader goals this season.
Wylie, which has now won 18 of its last 19 matches, was happy to take care of business on its home floor on a night marked by individual milestones. And ACS, which opened TAPPS 3A District 1 play with a sweep of Burton Adventist Academy on Tuesday, was happy to be exposed to a team of the Lady Bulldogs’ quality as it embarks on the most important stretch of its season.
7 p.m. Friday, Lowrey Field, Lubbock
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Brownwood-Wylie football (56 images)”
The Wylie volleyball team continued its outstanding start the season Tuesday, sweeping Midland Christian in a rare home match to claim its sixth consecutive win and 17th victory in its last 18 matches.
Playing at Bulldog Gym for the first time this season, the Lady Bulldogs downed the Lady Mustangs 21-9, 25-21, 27-25 to improve to 22-4 on the year.
After dominating the opening set, WHS rallied from a 20-14 deficit in Game 2 and dug out of a 23-21 hole in the deciding third set, fighting off game point to end the match in three.
Before Haskell senior quarterback Haegen Pinkerton arrived at HHS as a freshman, the name of Pinkerton was something I associated with the famous detective agency.
I now associate it with statistical insanity, and you should associate it with the Big Country Preps Player of the Week.
Pinkerton, who was behind center in Haskell’s 80-62 loss to Stamford, had one of the biggest nights I can recollect in a losing effort, accounting for seven touchdowns on Friday.
Hitting 15 of 22 throws for 193 yards, three of Pinkerton’s deliveries went for scores. But it was on the ground where he did most of his damage, rushing 29 times for 290 yards and four touchdowns to help keep the Indians competitive.
Brownwood 13, Wylie 7 — Four empty red zone trips, including three inside the BHS 10-yard line, proved too much for the Bulldogs to overcome in a tough home loss to the Lions.
A pair of unsuccessful field goals, a fumble and a turnover on downs kept Wylie from capitalizing on a 301-250 yardage advantage, as the Bulldogs only points came on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Jadin Karleskint to Dylan Regala with a 1:40 remaining in the game.
The Brownwood football team scored on three of its four trips to the red zone and turned Wylie away without points four times inside its own 20-yard line Friday at Hugh Sandifer Stadium.
At the end of a physical, hard-fought season opener between the teams, that discrepancy was the difference and deciding factor in what would prove in the final minutes to be a thrilling 13-7 Lions victory.
Wylie outgained Brownwood 301-250 and limited the Lions to a single touchdown, but three fruitless trips inside the BHS 10 left the Bulldogs down 13-0 with 2:13 to play in the game. The home team finally got on the board after that with a quick-strike score and recovered an onside kick with just under 1:40 to play, but the Lions came up with one final red-zone stop in the final minute to seal the win.
After a week of highlighting area playmakers, we wrap up our eight-part preseason position rankings series with the Big Country’s best signal callers.
To complete our look at the area’s top players, we’ve ranked our top 15 quarterbacks with a list of others to watch in 2026.
We hope you enjoy this list and that you’ve enjoyed our position rankings as we get set to kick off a new season.
7 p.m. Friday, Hugh Sandifer Stadium, Abilene
As we wind down our eight-part preseason position rankings series, we arrive finally at the Big Country’s top ball-carriers.
After breaking down this year’s crop of receivers and tight ends earlier today, we move now to the area’s top backs, ranking our top 15 with a list of others to watch in 2026. Don’t forget to check in tomorrow when we conclude our series with the top 10 area quarterbacks.
We hope you enjoy this list and encourage you to check out the other position groups, which are linked below.
We’re approaching the final stretch of our eight-part preseason position rankings series, and it’s time to look at the Big Country’s top receivers.
After starting the offensive portion of our series with the linemen, we now shift our attention to the playmakers on the perimeter, ranking our top 15 wideouts/tight ends with a list of others to watch in 2026.
We hope you enjoy our list and encourage you to check out the other position groups, which are linked below.
With the defensive and special teams rankings behind us, it’s time to look at the area’s top offensive players. And we’ll start with the foundation of any productive offense: the offensive line.
For the fifth installment of our eight-part preseason position rankings series, we turn our attention to the trenches, ranking the Big Country’s top 15 offensive linemen with a list of others to watch in 2026.
We hope you enjoy reading through our rankings.
After recognizing the top defensive players throughout the Big Country over the past three days, it’s time to honor the specialists.
We continue our eight-part preseason position rankings series by naming our top 10 kickers and top three punters to watch this fall.
We hope you enjoy this list and that you have enjoyed our position rankings as we get set to kickoff the 2026 season.
After starting with the linemen and linebackers, we turn to the defensive backfield to complete our look at the top defenders in the Big Country.
For the third installment in our eight-part preseason position rankings series, we shift our focus to the secondary, giving our list of the area’s top 15 defensive backs and others to look out for in 2026.
We hope you enjoy our list.
After taking a look at the Big Country’s top defensive linemen last night, it’s now time to examine those who will backing them in 2026.
Continuing with Big Country Preps’ eight-part preseason position rankings series, here’s our top 15 linebackers to watch this fall, as well as a list of the others we’re expecting big things from.
We hope you enjoy our list.
With the start of football season around the corner, it’s time to take a look at the players who will be making the biggest impact in 2026.
For the first installment in an eight-part series that will cover all position groups, we’ll be taking a look at the area’s top defensive linemen, ranking our top 15 with a list of others to watch this fall.
As with any such list, these rankings are subjective. We hope you enjoy reading through them.
Continue reading “Big Country Preps Preseason Football Position Rankings: Defensive Linemen”
The time has arrived for us to make our Big Country predictions, district-by-district.
Several weeks of research and two solid months of summertime labor have gone into this, so we’re more than ready to post it.
With that please dive in and study our take on the upcoming season, along with the more than 80 preseason stories we posted earlier today. Enjoy! We’ll see you on the road!
With 42 returning lettermen on this year’s roster, the Wylie football team will have experience back at virtually every position. But the Bulldogs’ linebacking corps, in particular, could be an embarrassment of riches.
In Bo Kates, Cooper Hill, Landry Pate and converted safety Carter Nelson, WHS will have four seniors starting at the position this fall — all with at least one season of varsity starting experience under their belt.
And with a combined 384 tackles, 34 tackles for loss, nine sacks and one interception collected among that group a year ago, coach Clay Martin is expecting that quartet to help lead a defensive resurgence in 2026.
Last year, the Wylie football team found itself on the wrong end of a three-way tie for third place in District 2-5A Division II, resulting in the Bulldogs left on the outside of the playoff picture for the first time since 2021 and just the fourth time since 1993.
With a remarkable 42 lettermen returning from that 5-5 squad, including seven offensive and eight defensive starters, coach Clay Martin’s squad has every intention of capping that drought at a single season.
With experience at virtually every position group and chip on their shoulder, the Bulldogs will be looking to return to district title contention this fall — an even-year tradition for WHS since 2022.
Here are our second-team selections for the 2026 All-Big Country Preps baseball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our second-team selections for the 2026 All-Big Country Preps baseball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to release our 2026 All-Big Country Preps baseball teams.
Here, you will find our Rising Stars Team honoring the top freshmen and sophomores in the Big Country.
For the rest of this year’s baseball selections, please click the links below.
Here are our first-team selections for the 2026 All-Big Country Preps softball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Here are our second-team selections for the 2026 All-Big Country Preps softball team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to release our 2026 All-Big Country Preps Softball teams.
Here, you will find our Rising Stars Team honoring the top freshmen and sophomores in the Big Country.
For the rest of this year’s softball selections, please click the links below.
GRAHAM — Heading to the bottom of the sixth inning, things were shaping up nicely for the Wylie baseball team in Game 3 of its Region I-5A Division II championship series against Argyle.
The Bulldogs held a 3-2 lead, had their best bullpen arm on the mound and had the meat of their lineup due up in the top of the seventh should they need additional offense to put away the Eagles.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go at all to plan for Wylie from that point forward, as Argyle scored four runs off reliever Myles McCarty in the sixth — three of those with two outs in the inning — to pull away for a 6-3 win and deprive the Bulldogs of their first trip to the state semifinals as a Class 5A program.
The loss ended Wylie’s best season since winning back-to-back Class 4A state championships in 2016 and 2017 at 27-8-1, while the Eagles (24-15-1) advanced to the state semifinals for the seventh time in program history — all since 2014.
Following Wylie’s 7-5 loss to Argyle in Game 1 of the Region I-5A Division II championship series on Wednesday in Saginaw, Bulldogs coach Grant Martin said he expected his team to respond well when the series came to Abilene Christian University for Game 2.
On Friday at Crutcher Scott Field, the Bulldogs did that and then some, trouncing the Eagles 17-0 in a run-rule victory to force a deciding Game 3 at 1 p.m. Saturday in Graham.
The game was never close as Wylie followed a five-run first inning with a nine-run second, quickly turning Argyle’s post-graduation trip to Abilene into a nightmare and ensuring that the Eagles’ drive back east would be a long — and likely quiet — one.
SAGINAW — The Argyle Eagles walked past the Wylie Bulldogs 7-5 in the opening game of their best-of-three Region 1-5A Division II final series Tuesday afternoon.
You pretty much can add the word “literally,” if you want to.
Wyle pitchers issued nine free passes, including five in the first two innings, and Argyle used the Bulldogs’ generosity to score six runs in their first two at-bats.
The Bulldogs gamely answered the Eagles’ three-run first inning with three runs of their own in the top of the second, but Argyle put up a carbon-copy bottom half of the inning. And while Wylie made it interesting down the stretch, the Eagles (23-14-1) held on and are now a win away from a trip to the state semifinals.
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As is our tradition, with the UIL State Track and Field Championships now over, we conclude our Big Country Preps Player of the Week column for the 2025-26 school year. We’ll pick it up again on Monday, Aug. 31.
In the meantime, our final award of the school year belongs to Gordon senior Stryker Reed, and with good reason. At the state track meet, Reed won state titles in both the 110 and 300 hurdles, breaking his own state records in both events at 14.20 and 37.24. He took an additional gold with the 1600 relay team with a 47.8 split and bronze in the pole vault at 14-0. He nearly captured a fifth medal in Austin, taking fourth in the high jump at 6-2.
Oh, and did we mention he plays baseball?
Well, he does — well enough to help the Longhorns to a series sweep of Oglesby last week, going a combined 4 of 5 with a double, triple, two RBIs, three runs scored and two steals. He also pitched in Game 2, allowing one earned run in three innings of work with four strikeouts.
STEPHENVILLE — After guiding Wylie to one of its best seasons ever, WHS softball coach Shelby Elkins had the unenviable task of speaking to her heartbroken players following an 11-7 Game 3 loss to Fort Worth Brewer in the Region I-5A DII title game on Saturday.
Brewer had just eliminated Wylie behind five homers at the Stephenville High School Softball Field. But Elkins quickly reminded a group of tearful players that there were several important achievements they should remember years from now.
“You just highlight the positives,” said Elkins, whose team had reached the program’s first regional title series since 2006 and its first ever in Class 5A. “For us to make it this far, they’ve done some great things this year.
“Every single one of them shattered their own records. … And that’s what we looked at from the very beginning of the season. The number of hits they had, the number of defensive plays — I wanted to give all of them goals to set and every one of them did a phenomenal job.
“I’m very proud of them.”
GRAHAM — After routing Burleson 11-4 in the opener of its Region I-5A Division II semifinals series on Thursday, the Wylie baseball team found itself in a position it didn’t want to be in Friday — facing elimination at the Graham High School Baseball Field.
But the Bulldogs bounced back from a 5-3 loss in Game 2 with another dominant effort in the series clincher, using a pair of five-run innings to pull away for a 14-4 run-rule win and punch their ticket to the regional finals.
After seeing 11 hits, including two home runs, result in just three runs in Friday’s early game, Wylie turned 12 hits, seven walks and six Burleson errors into a huge run total in the rubber match, taking pressure off its pitching staff early on the way to earning a date next week with all-sport playoff nemesis Argyle.
Photos from Thursday’s Game 1
STEPHENVILLE — Before Thursday’s series opener against Fort Worth Brewer, Wylie ace Avie Faries had yet to allow more than two runs in any of her previous six playoff starts.
So it took a special effort from the Lady Bears to kick off the Region I-5A Division II finals with an eight-run outburst that included four home runs off the standout junior.
In Friday’s Game 2, a determined Faries looked more like her dominant self with her team’s season on the line, limiting that same explosive lineup to just three hits and single run in a 3-1 Wylie win. The right-hander walked two and struck out six to improve her playoff record to 7-1 and help the Lady Bulldogs earn a decisive Game 3 against Brewer at 1 p.m. Saturday back at the Stephenville softball field.
STEPHENVILLE — For 4½ innings, the Wylie and Fort Worth Brewer softball teams were locked in a back-and-forth battle in the opener of the Region I-5A Division II finals series Thursday at the Stephenville softball field.
But a four-run bottom of the fifth highlighted by a trio of big extra-base hits provided the Lady Bears the separation they needed to pull away for an 8-4 win and an early advantage in the best-of-three affair that will continue with Game 2 at 7 p.m. Friday.
Included in Brewer’s pivotal outburst was a pair of home runs — two of four for the Lady Bears on the day — which served as the difference in a game that was otherwise very competitive.
GRAHAM — Junior ace Avie Faries continued her postseason brilliance Saturday, pitching Wylie to a 2-1 win over Joshua to complete a sweep of a Region I-5A Division II semifinals series and lead the Lady Bulldogs to their first regional finals appearance since 2006.
Faries, who pitched a two-hit shutout in Friday’s 4-0 win over the Lady Owls, allowed just one run on five hits and a walk in Game 2, striking out 10 to improve to 6-0 in the playoffs.
The standout right-hander saw her postseason ERA “rise” to 0.85 while keeping her WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) steady at 0.829 and improving her strikeout-to-walk ratio to an eye-popping 44-to-5.
And though she spent an inning trailing 1-0 as a result of a third-inning solo home run by Landrie Durham, her teammates made a winner out of her with a two-run fourth inning that would ultimately clinch a trip to the Region I-5A DII championship round to face off with Fort Worth Brewer, which swept El Paso Parkland in the other semifinal series.
Nothing quite like starting off a playoff series with a masterpiece from your pitcher.
Wylie sophomore Gehrig Fletcher delivered this artwork last week in a 7-0 win in Game 1 of a bi-district series with Lubbock Coronado.
Not only did the 10th grader throw a seven-inning no-hitter, but he did it with an unusual twist: he only struck out three batters.
No-hitters are rare enough, but throwing one while pitching to contact is something one almost never sees in a game dominated by aluminum bats.
“Gehrig is a kid that puts in the work every day,” coach Grant Martin said. He is the epitome of hard work, determination, and resilience.
“He is the best teammate and exemplifies what a student athlete should be. What a performance in a big time setting. So proud of him!”
LUBBOCK — The Wylie 800-meter relay team of Adrian Jurado, Max Thornton, Jett Wilson and Liam Chapman and Abilene High sprinter Jaden Jackson both earned bronze medals Saturday at the Region I-5A meet to top the list of performances by local qualifiers at Lowrey Field.
Behind its relay effort, the WHS boys finished with 12 team points, while AHS earned seven and Cooper finished with two.
On the girls side, meanwhile, Wylie scored two team points and Cooper earned one.
There are varying degrees of “no-hitter” in both high school baseball and softball. This is especially true when the mercy rule is concerned, with pitchers holding the opposition hitless through five innings (in a 10-run rule game) and in the case of the 15-run rule, through only three frames.
Whether those should be called actual no-hitters, depends on who you speak to.
There was, however, nothing arguable about the potential no-no delivered by Abilene junior pitcher George Ferguson in last week’s 2-0 win over Wichita Falls Memorial. To begin with, Ferguson held Memorial hitless through 8.2 innings before finally giving up an infield single in the ninth. In the process, he walked only one batter and fanned 17.
It was nothing short of a brilliant performance against a Memorial team that had won eight straight games. If ever one deserved credit for a no-hitter without actually throwing one, it’s Ferguson.
“George did a great job on the mound from start to finish and that included a 45-minute weather delay,” coach Brad Harman said.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Wylie-Cooper baseball (68 images”
Needing a win over Cooper and an Abilene High loss to Wichita Falls Memorial to move back into position to control its own destiny in the District 4-5A championship race, the Wylie baseball team got both Friday.
The Bulldogs did their part with an 11-1 home win over the Cougars, while Memorial rallied past AHS for a 7-5 win on the other side of town to create a logjam atop the league standings, where Wylie (18-5-1, 7-3), Abilene High (19-9-1, 7-3) and Memorial (15-14, 8-4) all remain in contention for the district title.
The rule-rule victory — and the offensive explosion that helped facilitate it — were both welcome sights for Wylie coach Grant Martin, whose team was coming off a 2-0 win over Cooper on Tuesday and had averaged just four runs per game over its last five contests. And with Friday’s results, the Bulldogs can now clinch at least a share of the district championship with a sweep of last-place Wichita Falls Legacy in its final district series next week.