Article by Greg Jaklewicz
Back in the Lone Star State, the Wylie Bulldogs travel northwest to face the Monterey Plainsmen at Lowery Field in Lubbock.
This is Wylie’s only Thursday game this season, but it’s the first of two trips to the Lubbock area. The ‘Dogs take on Lubbock-Cooper at Pirates Stadium on Oct. 31.
Wylie is 1-0 after opening with a 25-0 shutout of Brownwood. Monterey lost at Lowery to the Choctaw (Okla.) Yellowjackets, 48-23.
The Plainsmen are a familiar foe.
A Rivalry with History
This is the 10th game in an ongoing predistrict series that goes back to 2016, the year Wylie was the Class 4A, Division 1 runner-up.
The only game Wylie lost that year before falling to Carthage in the state championship game at AT&T Stadium? To Monterey, 37-23. The Plainsmen went 10-3 that year.
Overall in the series: Wylie has won five games, Class 5A, Division 1 Monterey four.
The Plainsmen have gone 47-53 during the series with Wylie.
Oddly enough, both teams have posted 0-10 seasons during the run.
There has been a touchdown or less difference three times.
Last year’s game was the most thrilling, with the Bulldogs taking a 29-28 nailbiter at Hugh Sandifer Stadium.
The Plainsmen won the 2023 game on the road, 34-21, to snap a three-game Wylie win streak. That included a 30-0 win in Lubbock against a Monterey team that uncharacteristically went 0-10 in 2022.
That shutout also was the last recorded by Wylie before blanking Brownwood 25-0 in the season opener.
Effort, Signs of Depth Stand Out from Week 1
Wylie coach Clay Martin had a lot to like and some things he wanted to work on after watching film of the Brownwood game.
“It’s never as good as it seems or as bad as it seems,” Martin said. “We had a chance to evaluate personnel and the way we played.”
He certainly liked the shutout, especially the fourth-quarter effort to preserve it with reserves on the field.
While Wylie scored in every quarter, Brownwood never made it to the red zone.
“(Defense) is where we had the least amount of returning players, and we showed some depth. For the majority of the defensive players Friday night, that’s the first time they’d been out there. Those guys were going to have to step up. We really saw some good things from those guys.
We didn’t play perfectly, but we played hard. We will be better this week.”
With few starters returning on both sides of the ball, the Bulldogs remain a work in progress.
Mistakes were made Friday but, as Martin said after the game:
“Hustle and effort will erase a lot of mistakes. I think that was kind of the story Friday.”
Martin is glad to have played the Lions. The 2024 game was not played, so the season-opener was against Monterey, which already had played Choctaw.
“That was hard last year,” he said. The Plainsmen “got a lot of their first-game mistakes out of the way.”
Wylie had to work through those and escaped with a one-point win.
Scouting Monterey
Martin says Monterey is a good football team despite starting with a defeat.
Choctaw won a 6A Oklahoma state championship last year, going 11-2, and downed Monterey, an eventual 7-5 team and district champion, by 17 points.
“They’re a team that will provide some really big challenges for us,” he said, noting size in the offensive and defensive lines, and perimeter speed.
Good news for Wylie is that Jordan Lockett, who sat out the Brownwood game, returns at cornerback.
“We had some guys who had to play both ways, so hopefully that will be alleviated a little bit this week.”
Monterey is picked fourth in District 2-5A, Division I, according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.
Wylie scrimmaged league favorite Abilene High.
The Plainsmen return seven starters on offense and six on defense.
They don’t return their coach, with Wylie facing a team with a new leader for the second straight week in Jason Sims.
Size:
DL Javion Ramon – 6-6, 245
OL Noah Gonzales – 6-3, 305
DL K.J. Russell – 6-2, 245 (four-year player)
Skill Players:
WR Cam Taylor (4.6 speed) – ran back a kickoff 89 yards vs. Choctaw, caught 12 TD passes last year.
Against Choctaw:
Monterey grabbed a 2-0 lead with a safety on an errant punt snap.
The Yellowjackets scored, but Monterey responded with a touchdown to regain the lead.
Choctaw struck with a long TD run to take control.
First-game mistakes prevented Monterey from keeping it closer, but the Plainsmen did score in every quarter, showing offensive consistency.
“They played a quality opponent but kind of shot themselves in the foot. The result could’ve been different,” Martin said.
Moving On Up
Taking on Monterey, a bigger school, is a good step up from Brownwood, a solid but smaller school.
“Early in the year, that’s something we need to see,” Martin said. “One year, we were able to run the football. One year, we weren’t. It’s something we need to see.”
For Wylie, it’s still about building the best Bulldogs team.
“I think our guys have a great perspective on that,” Martin said.
His staff believes Wylie will improve on TNF.
“I think you always make a big jump between Week 1 and Week 2,” he said. “That’s our goal.”
The Series
2024: Wylie 29, Monterey 28
2023: Monterey 34, Wylie 21
2022: Wylie 30, Monterey 0
2021: Wylie 30, Monterey 22
2020: Wylie 24, Monterey 6
2019: Monterey 48, Wylie 26
2018: Monterey 28, Wylie 21
2017: Wylie 42, Monterey 17
2016: Monterey 37, Wylie 23
Dawg Bite
Does anybody really know what time it is?
Wylie scored with 8:18 left in the first quarter Friday against Brownwood. Play continued before officials huddled after noticing the game clock showed a different time.
It was moving backward. More than 9 minutes remained in the quarter.
When it was adjusted and play resumed, the stadium scoreboard read 9:00 minutes – still incorrect.
If one of the teams had scored before the clock reached 8:18 for the second time, the scoring summary would’ve been wacky.
Fortunately, the Bulldogs defense was up to the challenge.
Big time. Wylie did not allow a point the entire game and, eventually, it reached 0:00.
District 2-5A Standings
Non-district
Team | W | L |
|---|---|---|
Wylie | 1 | 0 |
Ab. Cooper | 1 | 0 |
WF Legacy | 1 | 0 |
WF Memorial | 1 | 0 |
Am. Palo Duro | 0 | 1 |
Lub-Cooper | 0 | 1 |
Plainview | 0 | 1 |
Week 1 District 2-5A Results
Abilene Cooper 49, Azle 25
Amarillo Tascosa 10, Amarillo Palo Duro 0
Lucas Lovejoy 35, Lubbock-Cooper 31
Canyon Randall 44, Plainview 23
Wichita Falls Legacy 28, Lubbock Coronado 22
Wichita Falls Memorial 35, Fort Worth Wyatt 22
Week 2 Schedule
Thursday
Wylie at Lubbock Monterey
Friday
Amarillo Palo Duro vs. Amarillo Caprock
Abilene Cooper vs. Abilene High
Lubbock-Cooper at Lubbock Coronado
Pampa at Plainview
Wichita Falls Legacy at Amarillo Tascosa
Wichita Falls Memorial at Frenship
📺 Watch the Game
Can’t make it to Lubbock? You can still catch the Bulldogs in action.