MILES, TX— The Miles Bulldogs are preparing for a big season in a tough district after going to the Area Round of the playoffs last season.
The Bulldogs played their first scrimmages against the Forsan Buffaloes and Head Coach Jayson Wilhelm was pleased with what his team did on the field. Now, they are getting ready for the Christoval Cougars before the season opener against the Sonora Broncos.
Miles will have a new face at quarterback in sophomore Liam Yancey, who has an experienced skilled bunch. Wilhelm has been really high on Yancey since the beginning of the year and his teammates are as well.
“He looked good, I liked his ability, his patience, his willingness to stay in the pocket or a little bit,” Wilhelm said of his quarterback, “I think there was more than a couple plays where the fact that he stayed in the pocket and didn’t bail out of there allowed the play to develop a little bit. Gave us some big plays in that regard. Some of the stuff we’ve been doing for the past couple of years we continued to do well, so those are real positives. But that thought his poise in the pocket, and I think his teammates really enjoy him. They protect him, they take care of him, and we have a couple of times during the scrimmages where they’d run into the quarterback, our quarterback got hit and we had guys that were ready to take care of it, ready to defend him, so I think he’s earned that respect from his teammates. I think they love him, and they love to play for him.”
The skill positions are stacked as well. Senior wide receiver Cooper Ellison returns who is one of the best receivers in the Concho Valley. Over his sophomore and junior season, Ellison has 1,690 yards, including a 1,000 yards season last year, and 27 TDs, (17 in 2023). Ellison is joined by seniors Jaylen Torres, who had 21 receptions for 287 yards, and 4 TDs last year, and Dillon Medina, who ended up with 25 receptions, 437 yards, and 4 TDs as well.
In the backfield, seniors Tevin Meade and Devin Medina turned in great season. Meade had 100 carries for 964 yards and 16 TDs while Medina had 76 carries for 712 yards and 4 TDs.
Defensively, five Bulldogs had over 70 tackles with senior Lane Godfrey leading the pack with 92. Torres ended up with 86, Jaxon Petillo and Dillon Medina tied each other with 77, and Colton Kelly had 72. One thing the Bulldogs could do a little better is get to the quarterback. Miles had 10 sacks last season where Torres had 4, Dillon Medina and Ellison had 2 each, and Keagan Walz and Godfrey each had 1. Petillo and Kelly were involved and ended the season with 14 and 12 quarterback hurries respectively.
The Bulldogs also ended the season with 12 interceptions from returning players. All the usual suspects in Ellison, the Medina Brothers, Meade, Walz, and Torres ended the season with at least one interception.
“Last week, they played with a lot of energy, that’s what I really liked,” Wilhelm said, “They looked more like a unit because of what we’ve been doing now for a few years. I think they understand how they fit into the scheme of what we’re trying to do. They know who’s where and they can count on their teammates to be where they’re supposed to be. I thought that looked really good. Our four guys up front, and we didn’t have Petillo that game… but we had Kelly and Godfrey, and those guys did exactly what we really want them to do. They played hard and they played physical, and we did a real good job on stopping a team that’s going to run the ball downhill at you. We’ll get a different kind of test this week.”
There is reason to be excited in south Runnels County for the Bulldogs. Yes, Albany and Roscoe are still in their district but graduated several big-time players. If Yancey can get up to speed with his skill position guys, the Bulldogs could be dangerous. Miles will open the season up against the Sonora Broncos in Sonora at 7:00 p.m. on August 30.
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