The Wayne Bulldogs kick off their 2025 football season Friday night against Crooked Oak at 7 p.m. at D.S. Zack Powell Field.

The Ruf-Nex went 1-9 last season.

Wayne head coach Brandon Sharp, entering his 19th year at the helm, says they will be big along the line.

“They’re huge up front,” he said. “They’ll be really big on both sides of the ball.”

According to Sharp, they run single and double wing concepts offensively.

“They run a lot of empty sets with motion,” he said. “They like to give the ball to their flex guys and they’ll throw out of it.”

Defensively the Ruf-Nex base out of a 4-3 front.

Scrimmage

Wayne traveled to Southwest Covenant last week for their only pre-season scrimmage.

Sharp said despite a few growing pains, he liked what he saw.

“We saw what we were wanting to see,” he said. “Their attitudes were really good and attitude and effort is what we’re looking for.”

Sharp said the assignment breakdowns he saw are correctable issues.

“You could tell the kids were competing in the offseason, getting stronger and better, and it carried over to fall,” Sharp said. “Coach (Shane) Collins did a great job with them this summer.”

Sharp was especially happy with the way his defense swarmed to the ball in the scrimmage.

“They were getting to the football as a group,” Sharp said.