Injury to Wylie's Pruitt not serious

By MARK WILSON / Staff Writer

The injury suffered by senior tailback Jacob Pruitt during Wylie's 21-6 Class 3A bi-district football playoff win over Iowa Park last Friday night is not believed to be serious.

However, Pruitt's status for Friday's area playoff game against Aledo is still uncertain, according to Wylie head coach Hugh Sandifer.

Pruitt leads the District 6-3A champion Bulldogs (11-0) with 1,366 yards rushing on 183 carries. He has scored a team-high 17 touchdowns, with 10 rushing and seven as a receiver.

A helmet struck Pruitt just above his left knee toward the inside part of his leg with 7:38 remaining in the third quarter. Pruitt experienced swelling and sat out the rest of the game, and there was some initial fear that the knee itself may have suffered internal damage.

"It's bruised and still swollen," Sandifer said Monday afternoon. "As far as ligament damage or cartilage, we feel good that it's not. It's tight.

"We'll hold him out during the week and see how much the swelling goes down. I don't see (Pruitt practicing) the next couple of days."

Looking ahead to Pruitt's possibilities for playing Friday, Sandifer said, "I feel optimistic he's going to be able to play. We're not going to put him in position to jeopardize his leg. He made a lot of improvement the last couple of days."

Friday's playoff game is set for 7:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Stephenville. If Pruitt doesn't play, senior Marc Deffenbaugh will start in his place.

Aledo (9-1-1) advanced with a 24-14 win over Clifton Friday night. The winner of the Wylie-Aledo game will play either Amarillo River Road or Crane in the third round.