Entering this season with just two returning regulars — one of them a part-time starter in 2024 — the Wylie defense experienced near complete turnover from a unit that allowed just under 25 points per game during a run to the District 2-5A Division II championship and Region I-5A DII area around last year.

But despite that potentially sobering reality, coach Clay Martin was confident in the preseason that the Bulldogs would field a strong defense this fall.

Through three games — home wins over Brownwood and Lubbock Coronado around a three-point road loss to Lubbock Coronado — it would appear the former longtime defensive coordinator’s confidence was well founded. Not only has Wylie limited its three opponents to an average of just 12.7 points per game, it has done so while creating four turnovers and 37 negative plays with a fast and aggressive playing style that Martin believes will serve as an anchoring identity as the Bulldogs’ schedule toughens in the coming weeks.

Digital photos, prints and keepsakes may be purchased by clicking the link below. The “BigCountryPreps.com” watermark will be removed from all purchased photos.

Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Lubbock Coronado-Wylie football (114 images)” →

Any way you slice it, Friday night’s homecoming game at Hugh Sandifer Stadium could not have gone any better for the Wylie football team.

Coming off a tough three-point road loss to Lubbock Monterey last week, the Bulldogs did whatever they wanted to on offense in a 70-14 throttling of Lubbock Coronado.

The Bulldogs converted eight of 12 third downs, and when they got stopped, they converted on fourth down.

LUBBOCK CORONADO (0-2) AT WYLIE (1-1) 

7 p.m. Friday, Hugh Sandifer Stadium, Abilene

Photos by Pat Cockrell, HubCityPreps.com

LUBBOCK — Leading Lubbock Monterey 7-3 at halftime, the Wylie football team couldn’t keep the Plainsmen bottled up in the second half, being outscored 21-14 over the final two quarters in a 24-21 loss Thursday at Lowrey Field.

Monterey outgained the Bulldogs 346-222, limiting coach Clay Martin’s team to just nine first downs. But Wylie still had an opportunity to win the game late.

It wasn’t until Nate DeLeon intercepted Jadin Karleskint with just over a minute to play that the Plainsmen could finally breathe a sigh of relief in game that was hard-fought both ways.

WYLIE (1-0) AT LUBBOCK MONTEREY (0-1)

7 p.m. Thursday, Lowrey Field, Lubbock

BROWNWOOD (0-0) AT WYLIE (0-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Hugh Sandifer Stadium, Abilene

A year ago, Julius Laine was well on his way to his first 1,000-yard rushing season when a non-contact injury to his right knee ended his junior year prematurely.

It was a devastating blow for the 6-foot-1, 225-pound running back, marking his second ACL tear in a four-year span.

But if you were expecting the now-Wylie senior to be bitter about his poor injury luck — or to dwell on the negative all — you would be wrong. Laine’s focus is forward, not back, and with his knee fully healed, he has every intention of making his fourth varsity season his best to date.

Coming off their second district championship in three seasons, with an average of nine wins per year over that span, the Wylie Bulldogs have reestablished the expectation level set under former coach Hugh Sandifer, who led the WHS to 24 consecutive playoff seasons from 1994 to 2017 with 14 district championships in that stretch.

After a rocky start to their time as a Class 5A program, which saw them go 10-28 from 2018 to 2021, the Bulldogs are back under coach Clay Martin to expecting success perennially regardless of graduation losses and roster turnover.

 So while some might take note of the 44 lettermen lost from last year’s 9-2 team or the fact that Wylie returns just five offensive and two defensive starters, the Bulldogs themselves are focused on competing once again at the top of District 2-5A Division II and making a playoff run after.