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Wylie Pulls Away Late to Beat Legacy 45–24

Wylie Communications

September 29, 2025

Article by Greg Jaklewicz
Photos Courtesy of WylieSports.com

Dawg Bites

  • Wylie scores just 13 first-half points due to three turnovers

  • Julius Laine logs 171 rushing yards and three TDs

  • The Bulldogs score 22 fourth-quarter points to pull away

WICHITA FALLS – Bulldogs Pull Away Late

Lubbock-Cooper found out.
Top 10-ranked Wichita Falls Memorial found out.
Wylie found out, too.

The only difference between those District 2-5A teams, favored to win Friday night, was the Bulldogs won a football game.

Despite three first-half turnovers and the inspired play of 1-3 Wichita Falls Legacy, Wylie pulled away from a narrow 23-17 lead early in the fourth quarter to take down the Leopards 45-24 at Memorial Stadium.

Meanwhile, the Pirates were stunned 37-22 by Plainview, and the Mavericks, ranked No. 10 by Texas Football Magazine, fell in Abilene to Cooper, 42-27.

Wylie coach Clay Martin wasn’t kidding when he said the district was tougher top to bottom this year.

“We knew they would,” Martin said after the game. “That first district game, everyone is 0-0. If you ever think this game is going to be easy, you’re kidding yourself.”

The Bulldogs and Cooper Cougars put their 1-0 records on the line next at Hugh Sandifer Stadium. Wylie has won three straight against their Southtown rival.

Not So Fast

While some expected a blowout win Friday, Wylie instead had to work into the final quarter to secure its win over Legacy.

The Bulldogs scored three touchdowns over a span of 4:50 in the quarter to turn a six-point lead into a 28-point advantage.

It didn’t go so well in the first half.

  • Wylie’s opening drive fizzled after a promising kickoff return.

  • The Bulldogs lost two fumbles, including a disputed fumble by Blaze Ruffin at the Legacy 2 after a 53-yard gain.

  • Quarterback Jadin Karleskint was intercepted in the second quarter by Da’Kendrick Jones.

  • Legacy used the final 2:30 of the half to set up a late field goal.

Wylie led just 13-10 at halftime and missed a two-point conversion, leaving momentum in question.

“Stuff like that happens in football games,” Martin said. “You’ve got to deal with adversity. We fumbled the ball going into the end zone, we got a couple of turnovers, made some mistakes … but we’re still up 13-10 at halftime. We’re still ahead and all is good.”

Second Half Belongs to Wylie

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Ahead just 23-17 after a Legacy touchdown, Wylie leaned on its offensive line, senior running back Julius Laine, and a key interception by Jordan Lockett.

  • Laine ran for 171 yards (season-best) and three touchdowns.

  • He scored from 35 yards, set up another with a 50-yard jaunt, and capped a drive with a 1-yard run.

  • Laine boosted his season touchdown total to nine.

“I was trusting my instinct, and my instincts said to run, run, run,” Laine said. “At halftime, we fixed up what was wrong and executed in the second half.”

The Bulldogs scored 22 points in the final quarter, pulling away for the win.

Finishing Strong

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Wylie’s late surge included:

  • A 27-yard touchdown pass from Karleskint to Ruffin.

  • A 9-yard touchdown run from Dylan Regala, back after missing three games.

Wylie finished with 480 total yards of offense. Karleskint threw for 186 yards, Ruffin hauled in 109 yards and two scores, and Regala caught nine passes for 59 yards.

Defensively, Wylie limited Legacy to 225 total yards and just 44 rushing yards (32 on one touchdown run).

“We had a few missed assignments but we’ll come back from it,” linebacker Cooper Hill said. “We learned that we can always make adjustments.”

By the Numbers

Final Score:
Wylie 45, Wichita Falls Legacy 24

Team Stats:

  • First downs: Wylie 23, Legacy 12

  • Rushing yards: Wylie 294, Legacy 44

  • Passing yards: Wylie 186, Legacy 181

  • Total offense: Wylie 480, Legacy 225

Scoring by Quarter:

  • Wylie: 7 | 6 | 10 | 22 — 45

  • Legacy: 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 — 24

Key Individual Stats (Wylie):

  • Rushing: Laine 19-171-3; C. Jones 9-60; Regala 4-29; Karleskint 6-29

  • Passing: Karleskint 18-26-186-1-2

  • Receiving: Regala 9-59; Ruffin 5-109-2; Laine 3-18

District 2-5A Standings (Week 5)

  • Wylie (1-0, 3-2 overall)

  • Abilene Cooper (1-0, 2-2)

  • Plainview (1-0, 2-2)

  • Amarillo Palo Duro (0-0, 3-1)

  • Lubbock-Cooper (0-1, 3-1)

  • Wichita Falls Legacy (0-1, 1-3)

  • Wichita Falls Memorial (0-1, 4-0)

Week 6 Matchups:

  • Abilene Cooper at Wylie

  • Wichita Falls Legacy at Lubbock-Cooper

  • Palo Duro at Wichita Falls Memorial

  • Plainview open