Wayne drops opener

The Wayne Bulldogs dropped their season opener 24-8 Friday night against Konawa.

Inopportune penalties and mental mistakes doomed the Bulldogs in the game.

“We were sloppy with penalties,” said Wayne head coach Brandon Sharp. “Those are things that can’t happen and that’s on me. I have to get it corrected.”

Wayne moved the ball on offense but only capitalized on one of four trips to the red zone.

Wayne’s touchdown came in the third quarter on a nine-yard pass from quarterback Jaxon Dill to Sloan Jackson.

Eli Hobson capped it with a two-yard run for a successful two-point conversion.

The Bulldog score cut Konawa’s lead to two touchdowns at the time.

The Tigers struck first in the game with a 43-yard run in the first quarter.

They scored twice more in the second quarter – on a 57-yard run and again on a 67-yard pass with just :51 remaining in the first half.

The Bulldogs actually had chances to make plays on all four scores but for one reason or another didn’t make the needed plays.

“We just had the wrong fit by our linebacker on their first score and the safety didn’t make the tackle,” Sharp said. “On the pass before halftime we peaked in the backfield and they ran a slant and we got a late break. The players have to be accountable.”

The coach didn’t think his defense played poorly, they just gave up the big play and it proved costly.

Adolfo Vazquez recorded eight tackles from his mike linebacker position. Bradey VanSchuyver also had eight tackles in the game.

Hobson had five tackles and a sack. He also had a fumble recovery.

Sharp thinks his team’s mistakes are correctable and the team will work to correct them by Friday before their game against Lexington.
“I definitely didn’t call the best game and get them ready like they needed to be,” Sharp said. “We’ll work to get it corrected.”

Lexington

Wayne plays at Class 2A Lexington Friday night.

Lexington is coming off a 42-0 loss to 4A Bridge Creek.

“We need to get our minds right and do a better job in practice to win the game,” Sharp said.

Lexington returned eight starters on defense this season.

“They will bring linebackers from everywhere in that 3-4 defense,” Sharp said. “They will be physical.”

The Wayne defense will have to stop Lexington’s run attack if they will be successful.

“They’ll run the ball and do play action off of it,” Sharp said. “We have to do a better job of tackling than we did Friday.”

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.