The Wylie Bulldogs, their playoff hopes hanging by a thread, face one of the most prolific players in District 2-5A and certainly in Plainview Bulldogs football history.

With a 42-35 loss at Lubbock-Cooper, coupled by Wichita Falls Memorial’s 49-22 victory at Plainview, Wylie needs help in a big way to make the postseason. Specifically, an upset of Memorial by crosstown rival Legacy and a Bulldogs win over Plainview. That would elevate Wylie to 3-3 and drop Memorial to 2-4.

Wylie loses out on a three-way tie at 3-3 with Lubbock-Cooper and Memorial due to having lost to both schools.

The big game this week for the district overall is Abilene Cooper, coming off a bye, playing at district leader Palo Duro. The Dons are 5-0 and looking to jump from fifth place in 2024 to 2-5A champs this year.

Cooper has not lost since falling 29-22 to Wylie and stands at 4-1.

Both teams will host first-round playoff games regardless of the outcome.

Wylie fans can hope for a stunner in Wichita Falls. Legacy, which went 0-10 last year, has won twice this season, including a high-scoring win over Plainview.

With preseason faves Lubbock-Cooper, Wylie and Memorial having to battle to make the playoffs this year, a half-full glass says anything is possible.

“We talk all of the time about controlling the things that we can control, and this is a great example of that,” Wylie coach Clay Martin said. “We have to control our performance and our preparation and put ourselves in a good chance to win on Friday.

“We’ll let the chips fall after that.”

SCOUTING THE VISITING BULLDOGS

Memorial’s fate is out of Wylie’s control. What the Bulldogs must control is Seth Mayberry, a four-year starter who has rewritten all sorts of records at Plainview. While the Bulldogs have gone only 12-27 during his four years, it’s not because of who has played quarterback.

Even as a freshman, when the Bulldogs went 1-9, Mayberry showed promise.

Plainview shocked the district by opening district play this year with a 37-22 win over Lubbock-Cooper. In that game, Mayberry threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 181 yards and another touchdown.

He has a season-record 22 TD passes against five interceptions on the season and 2,846 yards - another record.

Mayberry has rushed for 12 touchdowns and 819 yards, often running by necessity when his blocking breaks down. Wylie will be tasked with putting pressure on him but not losing containment. And let’s not forget about covering Plainview receivers.

Give Mayberry time and he will find a teammate open downfield.

“An exceptional quarterback who is extremely experienced,” Martin said of Mayberry.

For his career, Mayberry has totaled 8,914 yards passing and 71 touchdowns, both school records.

The Bulldogs are scoring 35 points a game. Plainview’s 22 points against Memorial were a season low.

The problem is that Plainview is giving up 45. The Bulldogs allowed 56 points to Legacy, with the Leopards earning the first district win in their short school history. That loss has Plainview last in the district standings.

“Defensively, they play really hard. It just hasn’t worked out for them.”

The same could be said for Wylie. The Bulldogs surrendered more than 500 yards to Lubbock-Cooper and have given up around 1,900 in the past four games. Wylie forced the Pirates into fourth down several times only to see Lubbock-Cooper convert. Two touchdowns came on fourth down, while two other TDs were set up by key fourth-down conversions.

Mayberry and the Bulldogs have Wylie’s attention. Plainview has not rolled over to Wylie the past three years, losing 28-17 last fall, coming up short 36-34 in 2023 and playing decently in a 38-14 loss in 2022.

Receiver Jordan Porter, also a senior, is Mayberry’s go-to receiver He has accounted for 15 touchdowns and is averaging almost 150 yards per game receiving. His 1,285 yards and 86 catches broke the school season records. In one game, he caught 18 passes.

Porter and Mayberry has been recruited by hometown Wayland, with Hardin-Simmons in Abilene interested in Mayberry.

Porter this year has help.

Jaebreon Wideman and Grayson McMillan are targets, while Zachary Soliz has a couple of TD catches.

While Mayberry is a threat to run, Blaze Chambers leads the team with 111 yards on the ground each game.

“They have a lot of really good athletes,” Martin said. “An explosive offense that is well schemed.

“I hope this turns into a football game and not a back-and-forth,” Martin said. “You never know in these kinds of games. We’ll have to see how it goes.”

“We’ll be prepared either way.

PRIDE ON THE LINE

Martin said there is a lot for his team to play for, even if a playoff berth is a remote possibility.

For starters, a win gives Wylie a break-even season. It’s not what was planned but the best result possible.

A win at home is always big.

For the seniors, it’s the last game at Hugh Sandifer Stadium and maybe forever.

For those players returning next year, it’s a way to build momentum.

Thus, practice early in the week was good, Martin said. The Bulldogs were focused on Plainview, he said.

“We’ve treated this like all the other games. We went right back to work on Saturday. For the most part, I think the kids have done a great job with that,” Martin said of preparing for Game 10.

Plainview also has incentive. The Bulldogs are believed to be dropping from Class 5A football to 4A, Division I.

Martin said his Bulldogs played hard against Lubbock-Cooper. Wylie scored twice on kickoff returns, which kept the Bulldogs in the game. A field goal attempt to end the first half was blocked, preventing the Pirates from adding to their lead and giving Wylie some momentum.

“Through the course of that entire game, we talked about highs and lows, and there was a ton of that,” Martin said. Wylie led three times (13-7, 19-14 and 25-20) and overcame a 10-point deficit early in the fourth quarter.

But reminiscent of the Palo Duro game, Wylie was not the last team to score and came up a touchdown short.

“There were a bunch of crazy plays in that game and sometimes, those things don’t bounce your way,” Martin said. “That’s the hardest part about all this sports stuff. You put yourself out there and do everything you can, but it doesn’t always work out.”

While it’s easy to look ahead - and Wylie seems poised for future success - Martin said it’s all about Wylie vs. Plainview right now.

Any playoff hope begins with a Wylie win Friday.

“We’re playing this like it’s part of this year,” Martin said. “Preparing like this is the best opportunity we have to play another week.”

District 2-5A standings
W L PF PA W L PF PA
Am. Palo Duro 5 0 229 113 8 1 347 144
Ab. Cooper 4 1 239 139 5 3 342 214
Lub-Cooper 3 3 211 242 6 4 368 361
WF Memorial 2 3 169 175 6 3 345 263
Wylie 2 3 158 175 4 5 287 265
WF Legacy 1 4 144 237 2 7 189 400
Plainview 1 4 169 238 3 6 317 405

Week 10
Lubbock-Cooper 42, Wylie 35
WF Memorial 49, Plainview 22
Palo Duro 48, WF Legacy 15
Abilene Cooper open

Week 11
Abilene Cooper at Palo Duro
Plainview at Wylie
WF Memorial vs. WF Legacy
Lubbock-Cooper open

End of regular season