The Wylie Bulldogs landed five players on the District 2-5A all-district first team.

The postseason superlatives were announced after all four district playoff teams were eliminated.

Losing in the area round of the playoffs were district champ Amarillo Palo Duro, which fell 38-35 to Anna; second-place Cooper, which was defeated 77-35 by Argyle; and third-place Lubbock-Cooper, which lost 55-13 to Walnut Grove.

Fourth-place Wichita Falls Memorial lost its bi-district game 28-14 to El Paso Andress.

Wylie did not make the playoffs, losing to Palo Duro, Lubbock-Cooper and Memorial.

The Bulldogs were 5-5 overall and 3-3 in district play.

Representing Wylie on the first-team offense is junior wide receiver Blaze Ruffin, with placekicker Noah Rehburg, a senior, also is honored.

Ruffin became the game-breaker Wylie hoped to find. In district play, the speedy junior caught 22 passes for 417 yards, or 19 yards a catch. He hauled in six TD passes in 2-5A play, including TDs of 65 and 81 yards.

He also used his speed to return kickoffs for touchdowns against Memorial and Lubbock-Cooper.

Additionally, he intercepted two passes when called to shore up the Bulldogs’ secondary.

Rehburg knocked through 24 extra-point kicks and booted four field goals on four tries. He hit three of those in Wylie’s 42-35 loss at Lubbock-Cooper.

For the year, he missed just one kick - a blocked PAT against Stephenville.

On defense, senior lineman Deandre Rodriguez and junior inside linebacker Bo Kates were chosen.

Rodriguez was a force on the line and often in the opponent’s backfield despite playing injured for much of district play. In a predistrict game against Lubbock Monterey, Rodriguez got Wylie on the scoreboard first by taking an interception back 29 yards for a touchdown.

Kates was at the center of a strong linebacking corps dominated by juniors.

Chosen as utility players for Wylie was Blake Frailing, a junior outside linebacker and tight end.

Palo Duro junior quarterback Julian Reese was named the 2-5A MVP. It was Reese’s kickoff return late in the game that set up the Dons’ winning touchdown in a 42-35 win over Wylie in Amarillo.

Special Teams Player of the Year was Kyron Brown, a Palo Duro junior.

Reese and Brown were unanimous choices.

Offensive Player of the Year is teammate Darien Lewis, a senior while Abilene Cooper senior Dycin Davis is the Defensive Player of the Year.

The Coach of the Year award went to head coach Eric Mims and his staff at Palo Duro. The Dons were fifth in 2024 at 5-5 and projected only as a fourth-place team by Texas Football magazine. Instead, PD went 9-1 in the regular season, running the table at 6-0 in district play.

Newcomer of the Year awards went to Noah Clark, Lubbock-Cooper (offense); Zach Linton, Palo Duro (defense); and Isaac Massousema, Abilene Cooper (defense).

Second-team picks for Wylie on offense were Julius Laine, senior running back; Barrett Huffington, senior center; and Dylan Regala, junior wide receiver.

While Laine did not reach 1,000 rushing for the season, he gave it a run in his last game. The four-year letterman rushed for a career-high 300 yards and scored five touchdowns in Wylie’s 70-52 season-ending win over Plainview.

He finished with 972 yards overall and scored 12 touchdowns in district play.

Regala led the team in catches in 2-5A play with 34 for 346 yards. He scored twice, and also returned a kickoff 80 yards against Lubbock-Cooper.

On defense, the lone honored Bulldogs was Landry Pate, junior outside linebacker. Pate, Kates, Frailing and Cooper Hill were names often called on tackles.

Wylie had seven honorable mention players: Jadin Karleskint, junior quarterback; Mark Esquivel, senior offensive tackle; Sutton Stephenson, junior offensive guard; Hill, junior linebacker; Blake Ortiz, senior defensive end; Carter Nelson, junior safety; and Jordan Lockett, senior cornerback.

Karleskint played the entire season and was consistent despite often being pressured, especially when injuries dented the Bulldogs’ offensive line.

The junior completed 75 of 107 passes in district play - right at 70 percent.

He threw for 981 yards in six league games, and had nine TD passes against just one interception. That came in the 2-5A opener against Legacy; he did not throw a pick over the final five games.