DAWG BITES

- Wylie wins its third road game, all in Lubbock County, and starts 1-0 in district play

- The running game sparks, netting almost 300 yards with three players over 80 yards each

- Down 13-0, Wylie scores the next 49 points to corral the Mustangs

LUBBOCK - If winning in Lubbock County was the Super Bowl, the Wylie Bulldogs would be this year’s champion.

The Bulldogs made their third trip northwest, this time to play the opening game of the District 2-5A season on a Thursday night. Wylie spotted Coronado a 13-0 lead, then scored the next 49 points - all in the first half - on its way to a 56-20 blowout.

That put Wylie at 3-0 in Lubbock-area games; the Bulldogs are 0-2 in Abilene.

For 24 hours, the Bulldogs sat alone on top of the league standings. The other two opening games were scheduled for Friday night.

Wylie coach Clay Martin was glad to leave the Hub City with an important win.

“It didn’t get off to a great start obviously but at this point of the year, you’re just trying to find ways to win a ballgame,” Martin said. “They had all the momentum in the world but we were quickly able to turn it around. Offensively, we were able to do some good things and able to flip the game pretty quick.

“We were able to get on the winning side of the first district game. That’s big for us.”

It was a strange night in several ways.

First, it was 82 degrees at kickoff with overcast skies. It was 100 degrees on Sept. 4, when the Bulldogs and Monterey Plainsmen kicked off. Wylie won that game 49-3.

Second, the public address announcement to what proved to be a paltry crowd at Lowrey Field stated this was the final non-district game for the Mustangs. Previously, Wylie and Coronado squared off before district play began but the Mustangs now are in 2-5A with the Bulldogs.

Third, some sort of record was set for penalties for a fifth game of the season. Few openers have a combined 26 penalties for a whopping 218 yards. A penalty negated a 93-yard kickoff return by Brody Anderson in the second half. Kickoff specialist Kannon Ruffin booted three out of bounds - a 5-yard penalty each time.

“I don’t think we played very clean, to say the least. There were a lot of flags thrown, and we’ve got to execute better,” Martin said.

And for grins, punts ranged from 2 yards to 60, the latter by Wylie.

Not only did the game move slowly because of the yellow flags and quantity of scoring, TV timeouts and extended referee discussions added up. The first half was played in 1 hour, 45 minutes.

“That may have been the longest first half and shortest second half that I’ve been involved with,” the veteran coach said. “

Despite the rough first few minutes, Wylie regrouped - and regrouped quickly - after the Mustangs galloped to the early lead.

A slow start may be costly for Wylie in coming weeks, however.

“We’ve got some work to do on the Wylie Bulldogs,” Martin said.

HOW IT STARTED

Coronado took the opening kickoff and scored just 2:34 into the game, overcoming a rare tripping penalty. Pass completions of 26 and 34 yards got the Mustangs to the Wylie 15, where David Bawcum went to Sha’Kory Cross in the end zone for the touchdown. The PAT was blocked and Wylie’s Liam Chapman got past midfield before his jaunt for two points ended.

The Bulldogs started at their 40 after Jadin Karleskint’s first pass was dropped by Coronado’s Caleb Bann, Cooper Jones ripped off his biggest run of the season, breaking free to his left for a 40-yard gain to the Coronado 15.

On the next play, Karleskint rushed up the middle only to have the football poked free. Zekai Bibbs recovered for the Mustangs back at the 20.

On third down from the Wylie 22, Bawcum ducked the rush, rolled to his right, and flung the football short to J’Lynn McGraw. McGraw seemed hemmed in but broke free and raced across the field to the end zone. Less than 4 minutes into the game Coronado had a 13-0 lead.

Wylie might have been dazed but the Bulldogs weren’t confused about which team was superior.

After a short kickoff, Cooper gained six yards before breaking free on a 43-yard touchdown run, outracing Bibbs to the pylon. It was his longest gain of the season.

That took 37 seconds and after forcing a three-and-out, the Bulldogs needed just over two minutes to take the lead. Using the run and a facemask penalty to get to the Coronado 10, Karlekint threw his second pass of the game, a 10-yard scoring strike to Blaze Ruffin in the left corner of the end zone. It was Ruffin’s eighth TD catch in the last four games.

Kannon Ruffin booted the PAT and Wylie led 14-13 with 3:59 still to play in the quarter.

The avalanche of scoring would not end there, at least for Wylie.

BULLDOGS BLOW IT OPEN

Wylie scored 21 points in the second quarter in its win over Frenship, also in Lubbock County. The Bulldogs put up 28 second quarter points against Coronado after finishing the first quarter ahead 21-13 on a 1-yard run by Jett Wilson.

The teams combined for 34 first quarter points.

In a game in which 76 points were scored, there were just two turnovers. The second was an interception by Wylie’s Brody Martin off a tip by Bo Kates. That set up Wilson’s touchdown.

In the second quarter, Karleskint and Blaze Ruffin teamed again on a 22-yard pass. It was a typical Ruffin catch, with the senior going high to outmuscle his defender for the football.

Karleskint turned his attention to Jackston Williams. They hooked up on a 33-yard scoring, with Williams so wide open that he jogged into the end zone. Then came the 63-yard bomb, during which Williams left his defender behind and ran unchallenged to the end zone.

In a game that started with Wylie showing off its rushing game for the first time, Karleskint would finish a short night going 5-for-10 - four completions going for touchdowns.

Wylie led 49-13 at halftime, and the second half simply was playing out the game. For Bulldogs fans still needing to drive home on a school night, the third and fourth quarters thankfully sailed by quickly.

Both teams scored once as Coronado kept its starters in and Martin cleared his bench.

How clear? Senior Scot Weddle, a backup linebacker on defense, got into the game on offense to carry the ball. It was, he said, his first carry ever. He was dropped for a three-yard loss but made a memory.

ANOTHER CHANCE FOR BACKUPS

The star on offense in the second half became junior Kory Gibson, who carried 14 times for 88 yards. He churned out runs of 12, 13, and 11 yards and did not take a loss even when first contact was behind the line of scrimmage.

“It was a surprise,” said Gibson, who hasn’t had many carries this year. He said he is determined not to go down after one hit.

“That is my running style,” the back said. “My dad explained it to me, don’t go down after one guy. More like four or five of them. I am ready to play some more and I’m ready.”

That includes getting his first touchdown, he added, smiling.

Wylie, which has relied on the pass, rushed 40 times for a season-high 296 yards.

“We had the opportunity to run the football and I thought we did a really, really great job of running the ball hard,” Martin said, adding Coronado was set to be exploited and his team did so.

“We made a lot of good reads tonight, and the offensive line played really well and controlled the line of scrimmage. We saw a lot of stunts by them and we did a good job picking them up.”

Jones led all ballcarriers with 98 yards before leaving the game with an injury. Wilson took his place and ran for 94 yards, including a 53-yarder that showed off his speed once he hits gear.

Getting in on the action was linebacker Kates, who came into the game as part of Wylie’s box formation. With 1:16 left in the first half, Kates bulled 6 yards for his first touchdown of the season. It was the only time he touched the ball offensively all night.

Landry Hammond, new to the varsity, rushed for a 19-yard gain on his first and only carry.

The Bulldogs threw just 14 passes, a season low, but eight completions netted 196 yards.

McCarty got another TD pass for Wylie’s only second-half points, hitting Jayden Naemi on a 13-yard crossing pattern. Earlier, McCarty threaded the needle to Naemi on a 31-yard gain.

Naemi said his quarterback noted the coverage and “gave me a look” that the football would be coming his way.

“I didn’t even know there was a safety. I thought I was wide open and it was a free touchdown. I saw it in the air and just pulled it in,” Naemi said of his catch in traffic. “I jumped up and got hit straight to the ribs. I got up and was excited I had the ball. It just made me so happy.”

Same thing on the TD, he said.

“He gave me the look and threw a great ball. It was a perfect play,” Naemi said.

SPRINGBOARD INTO DISTRICT

For the game, Wylie crested 500 yards for the first time before game-ending two kneels by Myles McCarty dropped that total to 492.

Bawcum, who came into the game with more than 1,200 yards passing, 39 times, completing 21 for 290 yards. He had more than half of that in the first quarter and the majority of the rest against Wylie backups.

The Bulldogs allowed 90 rushing yards on 22 plays, only two of which went for more than 10 yards.

Besides the kickoff that was called back, Wylie missed six more points when normally sure-handed Dylan Regala dropped a sure interception on Coronado’s fifth possession with nothing but Lowrey fake grass in front of him.

Fortunately, Wylie had enough points on the scoreboard.

The Bulldogs have a 15-day break before playing again, taking on high-scoring Wichita Falls Memorial on Oct. 9 at Sandifer Stadium. Memorial handily won this matchup in 2025.

Friday’s win gives the Bulldogs a chance to put Memorial behind them in the standings.

“The first game of district is big for everybody and this sets the tone,” Martin said. “To put yourself in the win column after Week 1 is big.”

Naemi agreed.

“A great start,” he said. “We are hyped up.”

YARDSTICK
CHS Wylie
First downs 18 23
Rushing 22-90 40-296
A-C-Int 21-34-1 8-14-0
Passing 290 196
Total offense 380 492
Punting 5-30.0 1-60.0
Fumbles/lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties 13-218 13-100

SCORE BY QUARTERS
WHS 21 28 0 7 - 56
CHS 13 0 7 0 - 20

SCORING
First quarter
CHS - Sha’Kory Cross 15 pass from David Bawcum (kick blocked), 9:26
CHS - J’Lynn McGraw 78 pass from Bawcum (Michael Reyna kick), 8:07
WHS - Cooper Jones 43 run (Kannon Ruffin kick), 7:29
WHS - Blaze Ruffin 10 pass from Jadin Karleskint (K. Ruffin kick), 3:59
WHS - Jett Wilson 1 run (K. Ruffin kick), 1:10
Second quarter
WHS - B. Ruffin 22 pass from Karleskint (K. Ruffin kick), 9:35
WHS - Jackston Williams 33 pass from Karleskint (K. Ruffin kick), 6:55
WHS - Williams 63 pass from Karleskint (K. Ruffin kick), 5:36
WHS - Bo Kates 6 run (K. Ruffin kick), 1:16
Third quarter
CHS - Kam Miller 17 pass from Bawcum (Reyna kick), 3:15
Fourth quarter
WHS - Jaden Naemi 13 pass from Myles McCarty (K. Ruffin kick), 7:31

WYLINE INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing - Cooper Jones, 5-98-1; Jett Wilson, 9-94-1; Kory Gibson, 14-88; Landry Hammond, 1-19; Dylan Regala, 5-17; Bo Kates, 1-6; Scot Weddle, 1-minus 3; Jadin Karleskint, 2-minus 13. Team 2-minus 10.

Passing - Karleskint, 5-10-147-0-4; Myles McCarty, 3-4-49-0-1

Receiving - Jackston Williams, 2-97, Jaden Naemi, 2-44; Blaze Ruffin, 2-32; Jett Wilson, 1-18, Brody Anderson, 1-5.

2026 DISTRICT 2-5A STANDINGS
Team District Season
W L Pts. Def. W L Pts. Def.
Wylie 1 0 56 20 3 2 163 99
Am. Palo Duro 0 0 0 0 3 1 118 59
WF Legacy 0 0 0 0 3 1 164 94
Ab. Cooper 0 0 0 0 2 2 92 77
WF Memorial 0 0 0 0 2 2 205 185
Lub. Coronado 0 0 0 0 1 3 104 117
Lub-Cooper 0 0 0 0 0 4 63 172
Lub. Coronado 0 1 20 56 1 4 124 173

LAST WEEK'S GAMES
Wylie 56, Coronado 20
Palo Duro at Legacy
Abilene Cooper Memorial
Lubbock-Cooper open