The Pirates annihilated Mesquite Horn 60-21 Friday at Hanby Stadium.

The Jaguar defense struggled to slow Wylie’s well-executed offensive game plan.

However, it was the Pirates’ overwhelming defensive onslaught that stole the show, with six sacks, two interceptions, a fumble recovery and a blocked punt being just part of Wylie’s effort.

Rowlett comes to Pirate Stadium on Friday for Wylie homecoming. The celebration begins with a pregame performance by That Wylie Band at 7:10 p.m. and the announcement of the band sweetheart and beau. The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. The homecoming queen and king will be crowned at halftime.

Fans are asked to “black out” for the game. There will also be a “black-out” theme for the district opener versus McKinney Boyd on Sept. 26.

Horn has several high-caliber players on its roster, including dual-threat quarterback Emory Miller and a Div. I prospect in receiver Tayler Gabriel.

The Jags had defeated a sound Arlington Martin team 42-21 during zero week and played a solid Lake Highlands team down to the wire in week one, only to fall 38-35.

“It was one of those games where things went our way and they just couldn’t get anything started. They couldn’t stop us, and we were executing at a pretty high level,” said Wylie head coach Bill Howard.

The Pirates took only 21 seconds to make an initial impression. On the first play of the game, Johnny Jones took the handoff from quarterback Jerod Monk at the 27-yard line, picked up a couple of excellent blocks from offensive linemen Paul Finnie and Caleb Moore and popped through for a 73-yard touchdown.

Altogether, Wylie scored on seven of eight first-half possessions (six TDs, one FG).

They added two touchdowns and a field goal in the second half. They generated 478 yards of total offense, which included 317 yards on the ground.

In just over two quarters, Monk completed 10-of-14 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns.

He also carried the ball seven times for 85 yards and a touchdown.

Jones was the rushing leader with 12 carries for 161 yards and a score. Nick Knott had six carries for 58 yards and scored two touchdowns.

Diversity was the name of the game with seven different players adding to the Pirate point total. Monk scored the second Wylie touchdown on a 17-yard run around the right side. Monk connected with Logan Lambert from 33 yards out in the first quarter.

Early in the second period, Knott extended Wylie’s lead to 28-7 with a 22-yard run, and Monk hit Justin Thompson for a 9-yard reception in the right corner of the end zone to put Wylie up by 28 points.

Noah Cheshier extended the lead to 41-7 with a bull rush into the end zone from four yards out. The final points of the first half came courtesy of kicker Zac Ohannessian, who split the uprights for a 32-yard field goal.

Ohannessian was also good for five extra points in the half.

In the third quarter, Knott scored on an 8-yard run, and Akwasi Achiaw picked up a touchdown from nine yards out.

Ohannessian tacked up the final points with a 23-yard field goal with 2:35 remaining in the game.

The Jaguar offense was confounded by Wylie’s “blackjack” hit-’em-hard, hit-’em-fast defense.

Their first possession ended with a Corey Smith interception, who did a great job of sitting back waiting for the pressure up front to force the Jaguar signal caller into a bad decision.

It was the first of Smith’s two first-half interceptions. He has three picks on the season.

“Defensively, we knew their offensive line was going to be overmatched by our defensive line. Our front seven against theirs was a mismatch,” said Howard.

The Wylie defense tallied a major blow against the Jags on almost every ensuing possession.

Wylie posted one sack in each of the next three possessions, with one each by A.J. Jordan, Devan Drake and Nikita Whitlock.

Drake personally added two more sacks before the long night was over for Horn.

The Jaguars opened the second half at their 20-yard line.

After Wylie recorded back-to-back tackles for loss, the Jags lined up to punt on fourth-and-16. Whitlock broke through to block the punt, which set up Wylie’s seventh touchdown.

Late in the third period, the Horn quarterback fumbled the opening snap, and Alan Menchaca recovered the ball at the Horn 10-yard line. Two plays later, the Pirates celebrated another score.

Horn’s last two possessions ended with sacks. Drake recorded his third of the night, and Paul Humphreys sacked Miller as time expired.

Whitlock led Wylie with nine tackles, two of them for loss, and had two quarterback hurries to go with a sack and a blocked punt.

Toby Ball had 11 tackles and Izzy Eziakor recorded nine tackles.

Horn managed one touchdown early in the second quarter on Miller’s 3-yard run and Nathan Hunke’s extra point.

They scored twice in the third quarter. The first came on a 17-yard run by Travis Brewster, and their final touchdown was an 11-yard reception by Gabriel.

Junior varsity Black

The JV Black fell 18-17 to Mesquite Horn. Wylie scored its final touchdown with under a minute to go. The decision was made to go for two points and the win, but a fumbled snap ended the opportunity.

Quarterbacks Joe Rivas and Mike Robb connected with receivers Jermaine Merdock, Ryan Newman and Daterrio McClendon for touchdowns.

Running back Vincent Bryan had a solid game, as did offensive linemen Manuel Valdez and Jamal Jones.

On defense, Matt Sandoval and Armando Cervera played well at linebacker.

Cody McDonald and Jarrod Bruton did a good job along the defensive line. In the secondary, it was Dillion Chandler, Chester Harris and Beau Cobb taking care of business.

Junior varsity Gray

The JV Gray chalked up its first win with a 26-14 assault on Mesquite Horn. Wylie led 20-7 at the half. A high-performing defense stifled the Jaguar offense.

Quarterback Nico Ramirez connected with Jordan Hawkins and Logan Holster for a pair of touchdowns.

Rushing touchdowns by Chaz Moncriffe and Ramirez added to the point total.

Defensively, linebackers Trent Malone and Eric Dukes repeatedly delivered big hits. Mahlon Griffin and Tony Garcia were standouts on the defensive line.

Holster has proven to be an exceptional punter, as he continued to pin the opponent deep.

Raider Blue

The Wylie East Raiders’ Blue squad fell to Mesquite 27-7. Quarterback Michael Lyke scored Wylie’s only touchdown on a 6-yard run.

On the defensive side, Sean Watts recorded an interception, and Voltaire Hawkins forced a fumble.

Raider White

The Raiders’ White team put up a good fight, but fell 14-10 in the closing minutes.

The Jaguars scored on the opening kickoff, but an outstanding defensive effort by Wylie kept them out of the end zone until their final series, when they scored a touchdown.

Defensive standouts were Jonathan Sanchez, Hunter Ellenburg and George Rodriguez.

Ricky Castaneda scored the Raiders only touchdown on a 2-yard run up the middle. Hunter Villarreal had a nice option pitch to Castaneda for the 2-point conversion.

Raider Maroon

The Maroon played Hebron at home Sept. 10, and the two battled to a scoreless stalemate under stormy conditions.
Despite the lack of scoring, the game was not without action.

Brenden Kuykendall broke a 65-yard run after exploding out of the pile to give the Raiders a chance for the victory, but he was run down from behind before reaching the end zone.

The defense was outstanding, which included recovering six fumbles. Standouts were Craig Miller, Anthony Souddress, Anthony Longoria and Jeffrey Whatley.