Breckenridge 31, Wylie 14

By MARK WILSON

Staff Writer

Third-ranked Breckenridge was a difficult test for a Wylie football team just looking to improve.

And although the Bulldogs showed improvement, dropping their second straight home game to open the season was a tough pill to swallow.

The Buckaroos racked up 376 yards total offense en route to a 31-14 victory over Wylie in their non-district battle Friday night at Bulldog Stadium.

It was the season opener for the Bucks, who are no longer a District 6-3A rival of Wylie after moving into District 7-3A.

Byron Polley ran for 134 yards on 16 carries, Cory Wimberly scored two rushing touchdowns and quarterback Cliff Watkins threw for 184 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Meanwhile, the Breckenridge defense sacked Wylie quarterback Scott Bull eight times and yielded only 62 yards rushing on 39 carries. The sacks accounted for 72 lost yards.

"We played a lot better, and Breckenridge played well," said Wylie head coach Hugh Sandifer, referring to his team's 27-6 loss to San Angelo Lake View in the season opener. "We got better, but we don't like losing. We've just got to keep working."

The Bucks held a 21-7 edge at halftime after Herring completed his first seven passes for 125 yards, and Polley had 69 yards on eight carries.

"In the first half, we did what we wanted to do. We just didn't get enough points on the board," said Sandifer, whose squad must travel to Graham next Friday to play the state's 10th-ranked Class 3A team.

Running back Dustin Williams of Wylie had 53 of his team-high 78 yards rushing in the second half, including a 9-yard touchdown run.

Wylie turned the ball over three times, but had only two penalties.

But the negative yards on offense was still a concern for Sandifer.

"We had so many negative-yard plays. We've got to eliminate that," Sandifer said. "A lot of it is an attitude you have to develop when you're on offense, that you don't give up negative yards."

Breckenridge, which will be at home next Friday for a matchup against Class 4A Burkburnett, had no turnovers and only five penalties.

"Any time you come to Wylie and win, you've done an excellent job," Breckenridge head coach Ross Dodson said of his team's first outing. "Jake Herring had a real big game catching the ball, Cliff threw the ball well and the line protected him. We knew Byron could run the football."

Watkins completed all seven passes he threw in the first half, and Herring and Wimberly combined for 166 yards receiving.

"They've got a great team. They can go one play and bust in from 30 or 40 yards out," Sandifer said. "Polley breaks counters for 25- and 30-yard gains."

The Bucks first showed their offensive firepower on their second possession, after a Wylie punt was downed at the Breckenridge 2-yard line by David Bogart.

In 11 plays, the Bucks marched 98 yards for a touchdown, capped by a 6-yard run up the middle by Cory Wimberly at the 1:19 mark in the first quarter.

After the kickoff, Wylie rolled 65 yards in 11 plays to tie the score, getting a 2-yard pass completion from Bull to Brett Unger. John Self's extra point kick tied it at 7 with 8:14 remaining in the second quarter.

But the Bucks needed just under three minutes to take the lead back, going 79 yards in just seven snaps. It was capped by the only pass of the drive, a 21-yard connection between Watkins and Skipper Roberson for a touchdown with 5:12 left in the second quarter.

Herring snagged an 18-yard touchdown pass from Watkins at the 1:14 mark in the first half to provide the Bucks with their 21-7 halftime edge.

The Bulldogs got a break that allowed them to threaten late in the half, as the Bucks muffed a punt that was recovered by Wylie's Jeremy Wolfe at the Breckenridge 13-yard line with 30 seconds left in the half. But the Bucks sacked Bull on the next three snaps in a row for a loss of 16 yards to close out the half.

Wylie pulled within a touchdown at the 6:05 mark in the third quarter, but Breckenridge pulled away again.

A 21-yard punt return by Justin Groban gave the Bulldogs the ball at the Breckenridge 43-yard line on their second possession of the second half.

Williams made an outstanding cutback to the left for a 31-yard run on the first play of the series, and three plays later carried the ball in from nine yards out as Wylie pulled within 21-14.

Josh Power recovered a Wylie fumble at the Bulldogs' 20-yard line with 3:01 to go in the third quarter, and the Bucks made Wylie pay. After Watkins kept for five yards, Wimberly darted in on a quick burst up the middle for a 15-yard touchdown run. That gave the Bucks a 28-14 lead with 2:25 left in the third quarter.

Sophomore place-kicker Mason Grimes kicked a 25-yard field goal for the Bucks with 5:51 left in the game to make it a 31-14 margin. An interception and 12-yard return by J. Toland had given the Bucks the ball at their own 48-yard line seven plays earlier.

Mark Wilson can be reached at 676-6775 or sports@abinews.com.

Breckenridge 7 14 7 3--31

Wylie 0 7 7 0--14

SCORING SUMMARY

B -- Cory Wimberly 6 run (Mason Grimes kick)

W -- Brett Unger 2 pass from Scott Bull (John Self kick)

B -- Skipper Roberson 21 pass from Cliff Watkins (Grimes kick)

B -- Jake Herring 18 pass from Watkins (Grimes kick)

W -- Dustin Williams 9 run (Self kick)

B -- Wimberly 15 run (Grimes kick)

B -- Grimes 25 FG

Breckenridge Wylie

First downs 20 16

Rushes-yards 35-192 39-62

Passing yards 184 112

Comp-Att-Int 9-14-0 11-25-1

Punts 6-26.3 6-34

Fumbles-lost 0-0 4-2

Penalties-yards 5-45 2-16

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Breckenridge, Byron Polley 16-134, Cory Wimberly 6-30, Randy Clayton 5-23, Cliff Watkins 8-5; Wylie, Dustin Williams 9-78, Brett Unger 4-18, Danny Herrera 2-10, R.D. Huffman 2-6, Adam Rampy 1-1, Justin Grobin 1-(-3), Scott Bull 13-(-38), Team 1-(-10)

PASSING -- Breckenridge, Watkins 9-14-0 184 2 TD; Wylie, Bull 11-25-1 112 1 TD

RECEIVING -- Breckenridge, Jake Herring 4-85, Wimberly 3-81, Roberson 1-21, Polley 1-(-3); Wylie, Grobin 3-40, Herrera 2-24, John Hooge 2-20, Williams 2-17, David Bogart 1-9, Unger 1-2