The Wylie Bulldogs are back at Sandifer Stadium to open the playoffs for the second year in a row after beating Wylie on Friday night.

We learned something about the Wylie defense in that game, too. They are really good.

The Bulldogs shut out Cooper offense in the second half.

Linebacker Collin Bruning forced a fumble to switch up the momentum in the fourth quarter, and he intercepted a pass he returned for a touchdown to seal the victory.

Bruning was key, but he says the entire unit had to step up for him to get his job done.

Bruning said, “I told the defense that we needed to get the momentum back, and we made a play on the first play. I just hit the ball out, and I got the ball.

Clay Martin said, “Defensively, I think, it was just a couple of huge plays at big moments. I thought that we had done a good job of staying in coverage and forced a decision that we were able to take advantage of.”

Bruning added, “The pick six, yeah, that was big. It started with the d-line on that play. They flushed him out of the pocket. They did it all night. He wasn’t comfortable at all in the game, and he threw it back across the middle and I jumped the route.”

Wylie starts the 2023 playoffs on Thursday night against El Paso Andress at Sandifer Stadium. They kick that game off at 6:30 p.m.