DAWG BITES

-Quarterback Jadin Karleskint throws three touchdown passes again to Blaze Ruffin as Wylie builds a 28-0 lead

-The Bulldogs defense contains the Tigers, extending its touchdown-less streak to eight quarters

-Frenship scores three times in the final 3:35 of play and Wylie needs to secure a second onside kick to run out the clock.

WOLFFORTH - On a postgame radio show, a report from Peoples Bank Stadium said Wylie sneaked away with a win Friday night.

Yes, but really, a big no.

Wylie dominated the Class 5A Division I Tigers for 42 minutes, constructing a 28-0 lead built on three Jadin Karleskint scoring passes to Blaze Ruffin before Frenship got hearts pumping. The Tigers scored three touchdowns in the final 4 minutes of the game and were an onside kick away from really making it exciting before the Bulldogs secured a 28-21 non-district win.

Wylie improved to 2-1 and set up a homecoming clash with Stephenville. The Yellow Jackets (3-0) took down the Bulldogs’ district rival, Lubbock-Cooper, 48-7. It was the 19th straight win for Stephenville, which is ranked No. 1 in Class 4A Division I.

Frenship fell to 1-2 with its second straight loss.

If anything, fans were reminded Friday that it ain’t over ‘till it’s over. Frenship had been held in check by Wylie’s swarming defense and though quarterback James Ordonez was effective at times, the Bulldogs kept the Tigers out of the red zone.

“We played so good defensively,” Wylie coach Clay Martin said. “We got off to a slow start in the first quarter with some mistakes offensively, but the defense was just outstanding.”

BULLDOGS HAD DOMINATED

With Wylie substituting late in the game, things took a sharp turn.

Ordonez, who threw 55 passes, picked apart the Bulldogs unlike he had earlier. A touchdown, a 3-and-out by Wylie, a touchdown,a successful onside kick, and another touchdown kept the crowd from leaving early. Suddenly it was a one-score game with 1:41 still to play.

A second onside kick bounded into the sure hands of Ruffin, who snared the football and allowed Karleskint to kneel twice to end the game.

The end could be a teaching moment for Wylie, but it certainly doesn’t take away from how the Bulldogs played to that point. It wasn’t as easy as it was against Monterey in a 49-3 win 10 miles to the east at Lowrey Field the week before. But a chess game for field position early on exploded in three Wylie touchdowns in the second quarter. A final TD strike to Ruffin, who has caught six scoring passes in two games, made it 28-0 in the third quarter.

That was the game that fans saw.

Frenship had 85 total yards at halftime. That didn’t change much in the third quarter.

The Tigers rushed for only 18 yards in the game as they relied on Ordonez to make things happen..

“We had never played this team before but coming into it, we knew they were mostly a passing team and we just dropped a lot,” said linebacker Cooper Hill, who had a big sack. “In the first half, we just caught onto what they were doing … and we shut them down pretty good.”

Things didn’t change much in the second half.

“We came out on fire and played like the score was zero-zero,” Hill said. “We knew they were a good team but we were a better defense.

“This was a good win.”

PLAYERS STEP UP

Wylie’s defensive gem is more impressive considering standout linebackers Landry Pate and Carter Nelson did not play. That meant that players such as senior Kutter Womack had to step up.

“Kutter stepped in last week and he goes 100 percent every play. And Jett (Wilson) stepping up as a sophomore. He’s awesome,” Hill said of new players making an impact on the field.

Wilson had a fumble recovery.

Martin agreed.

“We had guys step up tonight and play well,” he said.”Like every other team in the state, we’re dealing with guys who are banged up. The guys who have gone in have done a really good job. It’s kind of the next-man-up mentality.”

Womack, who was happy with how he played.

“I think I did pretty good. I made some mistakes tonight that I can fix up,” said the senior linebacker. “I’ll get better next week.

“We have a good defense out there. We did a good job the whole time and played with the same energy. We just need to keep on producing. If someone goes down, someone has to step up. “

Wylie each week is seeing more of an impact from its highly touted sophomore class.

While his brother is lighting it up on offense, sophomore Kannon Ruffin is contributing.

After missing a field goal and having another blocked against Brownwood, he is 11-for-11 on PATs and is driving kickoffs not into the end zone but out of it. Additionally, he is in Wylie’s improved secondary.

“I think we played really well this week,” said Kannon Ruffin, who was in on his share of tackles and pass breakups. “Beating Monterey and having the confidence to come out here tonight and play was really cool.”

Ruffin, who had an interception waved off due to a penalty, said Wylie was ready to get worked on by Ordonez. He admitted he was tired and a little sore.

“Our line was able to get through and pressure their quarterback a lot,” Ruffin said. They made it easier to anticipate where a scrambling Ordonez would go with the ball.

TURN OF EVENTS LATE IN FIRST HALF

A turning point came late in the first half after Wylie had taken a 14-0 lead on Karleskint’s 23-yard scoring strike to a wide-open Ruffin.

Frenship moved the football from its 25, hoping to cut the deficit in half. The Tigers would get the second-half kickoff.

Ordonez got three completions and a late hit by the Bulldogs advanced the ball to the Wylie 27.

On second down, Ordonez fumbled and Jett Wilson recovered for Wylie.

With 1:54 left, it was the Bulldogs who vied for the final score. A 35-yard pass across the middle to Cooper Jones got Wylie to the Tigers 1. After a pass from box formation by Dylan Regala failed, Karleskint returned to the field, rolled to his right and found Ruffin wide open for the TD with 10 seconds left in the half.

“It just starts with our defense and getting stops,” Karleskint said. “Getting us in good field position and us just going down and executing.”

That swing changed the game dynamic. Frenship was less in the game and more in a hole. Wylie’s defense in the second half protected that lead and Karleskint’s third TD to Ruffin with 5:22 seemed to seal the deal.

Karleskint would exit the game 26-of 32 passing for 300 yards. He has eight TD passes already.

He said he brushed off his early mistake on the interception and moved on.

“Adversity is good. We like adversity and I thought we did a great job of responding,” Karleskint said. “Anytime you get it to him, you feel good about your play.”

Ruffin caught seven passes for 124, his second game over 100 yards.

“Getting the ball to Blaze has been a point of emphasis,” Karleskint said.

TIGERS BATTLE BACK

Wylie had a late chance in the loss to Brownwood. Frenship did the same to Wylie.

Ordonez, who threw for 324 yards in a loss to Lubbock-Cooper Liberty the week before, went to work down four scores.

A Wylie fumble lit the fire. Jackston Williams made a catch in Frenship territory and went down. The officials ruled a fumble and Frenship had the ball at its 24 with 5:02 to play.

Ordonez got the Tigers close to the end zone before Javier Jimenez took a pitch to the right, reversed field, and outran Wylie defenders to the end zone to make it 28-7 with 3:35 to go.

Wylie played it conservative on offense with backups in the game and could not get a first down after a motion penalty.

Frenship responded five plays later with a 50-yard pass from Ordonez to a wide-open Jimenez just before the 2:00 timeout.

Things got more interesting when Frenship recovered the onside kick and Ordonez three plays later found Peyton Archibald open on the right side from 20 yards out with 1:41 to go. Tristan Llama’s kick made it 28-21.

Blaze Ruffin saved the day on the second onside kick attempt.

Ordonez finished with 377 yards passing, going 29-of-52 without an interception. Noah Gonzales caught 12 passes for 137 yards while Jimenz, who threw his team’s other completion, had 90 yards on two deep balls.

The finish and stat totals were a high contrast to how the game started.

The teams traded possessions - nine total - in the first quarter. The teams combined for just over 100 yards in offense; at one point, there were more punts (7) than combined first downs (6).

The Tigers had a chance to dictate the game, as Wylie did against Brownwood.. On Wylie’s second play, Karleskint threw high to his left and Tysnn Montez intercepted for Frenship at the Wylie 42.

However, the Bulldogs defense showed it was ready for Frenship by stuffing the Tigers for a fourth-down keeper by Ordonez. A couple of his missed passes were catchable.

Frenship got a first down on the drive but didn’t get another until late in the second quarter..

The chess match continued into the second quarter. Wylie kept the Tigers backed up and their punts into a moderate wind went nowhere. The Bulldogs started its first two scoring drives at the Frenship 43 and 39.

Wylie cashing in flipped the defensive struggle to a 21-0 halftime lead.

“We did a good job of overcoming some adversity in the first quarter to have a really good second quarter,” Martin said. “The wind obviously helped (one Tigers punt went 16 yards and another just 17) But it was a field position game. Both teams were playing well defensively but we were finally able to get something going.”

The Bulldogs rushed for only 48 yards in the game. That total included 16 yards lost on a bad snap and 15 yards given up when kneeling the clock.

In addition to his passing total, Karleskint led his team with 32 rushing yards. While Frenship crowded the line to limit Wylie’s rushing, as did Brownwood, Karleskint this time was able to carve up the defense with his passing.

Regala provided a highlight reel play when, at the Frenship 12, he took a handoff, hurdled a tackler, and bulled his way into the end zone to put Wylie on the scoreboard and, it turns, out in the lead for good.

NEXT UP, STAPHENVILLE

Stephenville will be Stephenville, but Wylie appears ready for the challenge.

The Bulldogs defense yielded late points with subs in the game. The first unit, however, has given up 16 points in 11 quarters. That kind of effort will be needed in Game 4.

“We want to play them the most out of all the teams in pre-district,” Hill said. Wylie was drummed by the Yellow Jackets last year in its brand-new stadium.

“We’re real pumped about them. Even after this game, we had people talking about them,” Hill said.

Kannon Ruffin said “it’s going to be a really good game. Hopefully, we can put it to them and get a dub.”

Karleskint said taking on a defending state champion is “a heck of an opportunity.”

Martin was letting his players enjoy the big win in Lubbock. The focus then is on Stephenville, the final tuneup before the Bulldogs make a third trip to the Hub City, taking on Coronado in the district opener.

“We’ll go right back to work in the morning,” Martin said as his players celebrated their second straight road win.

YARDSTICK
FHS WHS
First downs 16 15
Rushing 20-18 28-48
A-C-Int 30-53-0 27-34-1
Passing 395 320
Total offense 413 368
Punting 7-31.7 6-38.0
Fumbles/lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties 10-85 10-70

SCORE BY QUARTERS
Wylie 0 21 0 7 - 28
Fren 0 0 0 21 - 21

SCORING
Second quarter
WHS - Dylan Regala 12 run (Kannon Ruffin kick), 9:58
WHS - Blaze Ruffin 23 pass from Jadin Karleskint (K. Ruffin kick), 4;42
WHS - B. Ruffin 1 pass from Karleskint (K. Ruffin kick), 0:10
Third quarter
WHS - B. Ruffin 37 pass from Karleskint (K. Ruffin kick), 5:52
Fourth quarter
FHS - Javier Jimenez 17 run (Tristan Llamas kick), 3:35
FHS - Jimenez 50 pass from James Ordonez (Llama kick), 2:00
FHS - Peyton Archibald 20 pass from Ordonez (Llamas kick), 1:41

WYLIE INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing - Jadin Karleskint 7-32, Cooper Jones 10-18, Dylan Regala 3-16, Jett Wilson 2-8, Kory Gibson 1-5.

Passing - Karleskint 26-32-300-0=3; Myles McCarty 1-2–20-0

Receiving - Blaze Ruffin 7-124-3, Jackston Williams 4-83, Jones 6-44, Regala 5-43, Maylon Green-Rhodes 1-15, Jayden Naemi 1-10.

2026 DISTRICT 2-5A STANDINGS
Team District Season
W L PF PA W L PF PA
WF Legacy 0 0 0 0 3 0 122 51
Wylie 0 0 0 0 2 1 84 37
Am. Palo Duro 0 0 0 0 2 1 76 38
Ab. Cooper 0 0 0 0 1 2 58 63
Lub. Coronado 0 0 0 0 1 2 69 76
WF Memorial 0 0 0 0 1 2 152 140
Lub-Cooper 0 0 0 0 0 3 39 123

LAST WEEK
Decatur 71, WF Memorial 64 (Thursday)
Wylie 28 Frenship 21
Abilene Cooper 28 San Angelo Central 21
Palo Duro 41, Amarillo Tascosa 14
Stephenville 48, Lubbock-Cooper 7
WF Legacy 42, Lubbock Monterey 14
Frenship Memorial 30, Coronado 13

THIS WEEK
Stephenville at Wylie (homecoming)
Odessa High at Abilene Cooper
Palo Duro at Dumas
Coronado at Plainview
Lubbock-Cooper at Canyon (Thursday)
WF Legacy at Greenwood
WF Memorial at FW Chisholm Trail