The Wayne Bulldogs kicked the 2026 season off on the right foot going on the road to Crooked Oak and coming home with a 20-6 victory.

Head coach Brandon Sharp’s club won the turnover battle and kept the Rufnex in-check for the majority of the night on their way to a 14 point win.

Eli Stottlemeyer scored the season’s first points on a 40-yard keeper in the first quarter to put the Bulldogs on top 6-0.

The Wayne defense stood tall throughout the night giving up just one big play in the second quarter. The Bulldogs defense had the Crooked Oak ball carrier in the backfield but he bounced off and scampered 78 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at six.

“I thought our defense played well besides the one bust, Sharp said.

“It was second and forever on their own 22 yard line and the back bounced off our guys in the backfield. He can fly and when he got the edge he was gone.”

Wayne only allowed 163 rushing yards on the night with 78 coming courtesy of the one lone touchdown in the second.

After the Rufnex long touchdown run, Wayne came right back and scored just before the end of the half on a 25-yard aerial touchdown from Stottlemeyer to Langstyn McClendon.

Stottlemeyer went back to work through the air in the third, connecting with Riley Taylor on a seven-yard touchdown to stretch the lead to 12 heading to the fourth quarter.

Wayne tacked on two points in the final frame thanks to a safety.

“Shane knows us well and he had his guys prepared and ready to play a good game,” Sharp said of the Crooked Oak head coach.

“We made some mistakes and didn’t do a good job blocking up front and our backs didn’t block for each other like I know they can.”

Defensively, Wayne forced two fumbles with Jeremiah Peterson leading the Bulldogs with eight tackles while Zeke Gavia tacked on seven and Logan Idleman had six from his defensive line position.

Levi Alexander recovered one fumble, while Stottlemeyer recovered the second Rufnex fumble.

“They had their chances if they didn’t turn it over and it could’ve been a different game,” Sharp explained.

“It was good to escape with a win. I thought our defense played well besides the one bust. They were athletic and Shane is doing well with them. It was the best Crooked Oak team I’ve seen in a while.”

Wayne continues on the road for week two with a trip to Hinton.

“They will be big up front and they have a really talented offensive tackle and their quarterback is very talented as well,” Sharp said.

Sharp noted the Comets like to spread teams out and throw the ball around the yard.

“Their quarterback looks good on tape throwing the ball and they have a good running back to go along with him,” Sharp said.

Defensively, Hinton bases out of a 4-3 while showing cover two in the back end.

“We expect them to bring a lot of blitzing linebackers and show different coverages,’ Sharp explained.

“They will roll their linebackers down off the edge to take away our stretch run play so we will have to be better up front to get the job done.”

“We’re excited about being 1-0 and we’re ready to get out and play again.”

Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.

Bulldog notes:

Jeremiah Peterson is the Bulldogs nominee for Defensive Player of the Week leading the Bulldogs with eight tackles.

Logan Idleman had six from his defensive line position and is the Defensive Lineman of the Week nominee.

There were no nominees on the offensive side of the ball.