Bulldog football fans will be seeing Midland High’s trio of junior safeties for quite some time. Athen Dominguez, Noah Crumpler and Jaxson Kidd have emerged as key players on the Bulldog defense, as all three currently rank in the top five on the team in tackles. Dominguez plays closer to the line of scrimmage in the Dawg position, while Kidd mans the free safety spot and Crumpler plays strong safety. MHS head coach Thad Fortune says the trio are the type of players that he wants younger kids to imitate. “When you’re trying to build a program, you want consistency and you want leadership and you want everyday guys,” Fortune said. “Those three have really kind of secured the back end for us on defense. They each have strengths that they can bring football-wise and then also personality wise to the locker room. I think it’s just a great fit for our football program and what we’re building here. They all lead in their own way.” The three safeties will be counted on to help slow down San Angelo Central (3-2) and dual-threat quarterback Tyler Hill when the Bulldogs (4-1) open District 2-6A play at 7 p.m. Friday at Astound Broadband Stadium. MHS will look to build on its best start to a season since 2016. “I think we’re in a good spot,” Kidd said. “All the work we’ve put in just gives more confidence. Once we get out on the field, we know what we’re doing because we work on it so much.” The three safeties got thrown to the fire in their sophomore year, playing on the MHS varsity squad during a 2-8 season in Fortune’s first year. It was a trying season for Kidd, who missed some time with a shoulder injury. Although the season wasn’t as successful record-wise as they hoped, the three felt they learned a lot from the experience. “I think it taught us how competitive it is and how fast the game really is,” Dominguez said. Added Crumpler: “I think it was just good to see the seniors in front of us. A lot of people would say we didn’t have a successful year last year but with Coach Fortune coming in, we saw a lot of the seniors work really hard and set good examples for us. I think it kind of inspired us to set those examples for the younger kids in the program.” The 6-foot, 175-pound Dominguez has played as well as anybody statistically on the MHS defense this season, as he leads the team with 39 total tackles and four pass break ups. Dominguez says his hobby is lifting weights and loves the power clean, which has helped him add the mass and the strength to play downhill and be a tackling force against the run. Crumpler, the 2022 District 2-6A 300 hurdles champion in track & field, has shined on defense after being moved from the wide receiver spot. The 6-foot, 180-pound Crumpler ranks second on MHS with 37 tackles. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound Kidd, who pitches and plays outfield for the Bulldog baseball team, is fifth with 32 tackles. The trio have naturally become leaders on an MHS defense that doesn’t have many starting seniors. “Having such a young team, it makes younger guys like us step up and be leaders,” Crumpler said. “We’re one of the youngest teams in the district. When we look at the scouting report each week, it’s all seniors on other teams. But it’s just exciting because we will have lots of returning starters next year. But we’re excited about this year. We think we have a really good shot this year. The seniors that we do have playing, are really big parts of our team. Having such a young team is exciting. I think our program is really headed in the right direction.” The trio of safeties will look to start district against the Bobcats with a victory and snap an eight-game losing streak in the series to Central that dates back to the 2011 season. “I think that they’re going to put up a good fight,” Kidd said of the Bobcats. “We’ve had a good week of practice, so I think it’s going to work well for us in the game.” Follow Christopher on Twitter: @chris_MRTsports SAN ANGELO CENTRAL AT MIDLAND HIGH When/where: 7 p.m. Friday, Astound Broadband Stadium Radio: KFZX 102.1 FM Online: www.midlandisdsports-bulldogs.com/broadcasts or Midland ISD Athletics app For live updates: Follow @chris_MRTsports on Twitter Records: Central 3-2, 0-0; MHS 4-1, 0-0 Last game: MHS 74, El Paso Andress 12 (Sept. 23); Central 63, Abilene Wylie 61 (Sept. 23) Last meeting/series: Central def. MHS 41-17 in 2021 to take a 42-30-2 lead What to watch – The Bulldogs have averaged 393.4 rushing yards this season, and they will look keep that going against a Central team that is allowing 38.8 points a game. –QB Tyler Hill has meant so much to the Bobcats offense, as he has passed for 1,008 yards, rushed for 724 yards and accounted for 18 total touchdowns. He was the Built Ford Tough Player of the Week for Class 6A after he combined for 524 total yards of offense and had seven total TDs against Wylie. Hill also completed a Hail Mary for a 40-yard TD as time expired to win the game. –Senior Ben Imler emerged as Hill’s favorite receiving target against Wylie, catching six passes for 119 yards and three TDs. Imler also caught Hill’s Hail Mary pass. –MHS head coach Thad Fortune said it’s important for his Veer offense to control the clock and sustain long drives with Hill and the Central offense on the other sideline. The Bobcats are averaging 42.4 points a game. – The Bulldogs’ last win in the series with Central was a 35-28 win over the Bobcats in 2011. Next: Wolfforth Frenship at MHS, 7 p.m. Oct. 13; Odessa High at Central, 7 p.m. Oct. 13...

The Legacy and Midland High tennis teams have their itineraries set for the playoffs in El Paso. The third-seeded Bulldogs (9-9) will visit District 1-6A No. 2 seed El Paso Franklin in the bi-district round of the team tennis playoffs at 1 p.m. CDT Tuesday. MHS will be competing in the postseason for the ninth straight season. Meanwhile, the fourth-seeded Rebels visit District 1-6A champion El Paso Coronado in the bi-district round at 1 p.m. CDT Tuesday. It's believed that Legacy will be competing in the postseason for the first time since 2003. District 2-4A champion Andrews will play Fabens in the Class 4A bi-district round at noon Tuesday in Fort Stockton. District 3-4A champion Big Spring meets Levelland in the bi-district round at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Andrews....

The Midland High volleyball team had to feel fortunate to come away from its home court with a win against Odessa High on Tuesday night. The Lady Bronchos put the Lady Bulldogs on their heels immediately with a strong start and they forced MHS to have to dig deep and battle in a decisive fifth set during the District 2-6A match played at the MHS gym. Sophomore right side hitter Ava Wilson had a team-high 16 kills to propel the Lady Bulldogs to a 20-25, 25-19, 25-18, 27-29, 15-11 victory over OHS. With MHS clinging to a 9-7 lead in the fifth set, Wilson tallied four of Midland High’s final six points via the kill. The Lady Bulldogs (13-18, 2-2) survived after failing to close out the Lady Bronchos (15-11, 0-4) with two match points in the fourth set. “I feel like honestly that it really helps motivate us to come back and fight for that fifth set no matter what,” Wilson said. “Sure, it’s hard to lose the match point. Even though we had two (match points) and we didn’t pull out the set, that’s OK. We still came back in the fifth and made up for it.” Added MHS head coach Bethany Johnstone: “I’m happy that they were able enough to get it done in the little moments. But we’ve talked about it before, no team in the district is easy. Odessa High is always hungry. They have tons of talent, so we can’t let our guard down. And it goes back to the mentality thing. Our girls have so much talent but it’s just getting them to trust in their talent is a big one.” OHS clearly outplayed MHS in the first set, as the Lady Bronchos put together consistent attacks behind their group of hitters that included Clarissa Rodriguez, Paige Byford and Aubrey Villa. At times, the Lady Bronchos would baffle the MHS defense by pinpointing their attacks to open spaces with softer shots. The Lady Bulldogs bounced back in the second set by finishing strong with four straight points to end it. The Lady Bronchos appeared to be gaining momentum in the third set when they notched eight straight points to take a 10-2 lead. However, MHS responded with an 11-1 run to tie it on a kill from Wilson that just landed inside the back line. The Lady Bulldogs completed the remarkable comeback to take the third set at 25-18 when Hannah Gideon dove for a dig, which was passed to Susana Salcedo, who set it to Grace Ware for the kill. MHS looked like it might cruise to a four-set win, as it climbed to an 11-6 advantage in the fourth. But the Lady Bronchos kept fighting and they survived two match points as they were down 25-24 and 27-26. The second time the Lady Bulldogs had a hitting error to tie it at 27. Rodriguez and Ginnette Quinonez followed with kills for OHS to send it to a fifth set. “I’ve been stressing that in practice, make them earn every point,” OHS head coach Cody Dominguez said. “Taking back those set points every single time just shows their heart was in the game.” The Lady Bronchos appeared poise to make another comeback in the fifth as they overcame a 6-2 deficit to tie it at 6-all. Liliana Garza extended MHS’ lead to 9-7 with a kill before Wilson took over with her late heroics. “We’re telling each other that we need to find the momentum that we had in the game,” Wilson said. “We need to bring it back and that we can do it. We can always do it. We can always win. We can beat any team any given day. We just have to confidence in ourselves.” Samantha Bustos led MHS with 24 digs and Mikayla Deller had a team-high 27 assists. Rodriguez led OHS with 14 kills and 17 digs, while Zoelley Herrera posted 18 assists. The Lady Bulldogs host San Angelo Central at 5 p.m. Friday. Follow Christopher on Twitter: @chris_MRTsports MIDLAND HIGH DEF. ODESSA HIGH 20-25, 25-19, 25-18, 27-29, 15-11 Midland High statistics Kills – Ava Wilson 16, Grace Ware 12, Brooke Boehler 10, Emily Moon 7, Liliana Garza 5, Abby Mueller 4, Samantha Bustos 2, Susana Salcedo 1 Digs – Bustos 24, Hannah Gideon 13, Salcedo 12, Makenah Dutchover 11, Mikayla Deller 5, Boehler 2, Ware 2, Garza 2, Wilson 2, Mueller 2, Serena Leascher 1 Assists – Deller 27, Salcedo 23, Bustos 1, Gideon 1, Boehler 1, Dutchover 1, Garza 1 Blocks – Boehler 2.0, Ware 1.0, Wilson 0.5 Aces – Gideon 2, Bustos 1, Dutchover 1 Odessa High statistics Kills – Clarissa Rodriguez 14, Paige Byford 8, Aubrey Villa 6, Marissa Rodriguez 5, Julia Jalomos 3, Clarissa Deleon 1 Digs – C. Rodriguez 17, Zoelley Herrera 16, Isabela Ordaz 15, M. Rodriguez 8, Allyna Gonzales 7, Jade Hernandez 7,Ginnette Quinonez 7, Deleon 4, Jalomos 4, Byford 4, Villa 1 Assists – Herrera 18, Hernandez 14, Ordaz 1, Byford 1 Blocks – Byford 5, Deleon 2, M. Rodriguez 1 Aces – M. Rodriguez 4, Villa 1, Herrera 1...

Midland High fell 13-6 to visiting Wolfforth Frenship during Saturday’s District 2-6A team tennis match at the MHS Tennis Center. The Bulldogs (5-5, 1-2 in District 2-6A) got their best performances from girls singles, as Sarah Stewart, Montserrat Salazar and Paige Ptak each got wins. Stewart and Salazar also teamed up to win their girls doubles match. Camden Foreman won his No. 1 boys singles match for MHS. “Frenship provided the perfect test for us today, and though we would have liked to come away with the team win, we had quite a few super competitive matches, along with a couple of really big wins, and so many other positives on the day,” Bulldogs coach Tom Heiting said. “I am really proud of our players and the way that they performed and represented Midland High.” MHS hosts Odessa Permian on Tuesday. FRENSHIP 13, MIDLAND HIGH 6 Boys Singles – 1. Camden Foreman, MHS def. Caleb Lambert, 7-5, 6-1; 2. Carson Smith, FHS def. Caden Carriger, 6-3, 7-6 (5); 3. Brent Postar, FHS def. Collin Graham, 5-2, default; 4. Grant McCombs, FHS def. Gustavo Gonzalez, 6-2, 6-3; 5. Ryder Smith, FHS def. Grayson Petty, 6-3, 2-6, 10-8; 6. Oliver Boyce, FHS def. Lance Robertson, 8-3 Doubles – 1. Postar-McCombs, FHS def. Foreman-Carriger, 8-6; 2. Lambert-R. Smith, FHS def. Graham-Petty, 8-6; 3. Gonzalez-McNeel, MHS def. Boyce-Ure, 9-7 Girls Singles – 1. Sarah Stewart, MHS def. Madelyn Tipton, 6-1, 6-4; 2. Montserrat Salazar, MHS def. Maizy Adams, 6-1, 6-2; 3. Allison Lent, FHS def. Shelby Wicker, 6-3, 3-6, 10-4; 4. Paige Ptak, MHS def. Mia Smith, 6-2, 1-6, 10-8; 5. Lauren McCombs, FHS def. Amy Anderson, 6-0, 6-0; 6. Hope Hancock, FHS def. Selene Silva, 8-3 Doubles – 1. Stewart-Salazar, MHS def. Lent-McCombs, 8-4; 2. Adams-M. Smith, FHS def. Wicker-Anderson, 8-4; 3. Norman-Hancock, FHS def. Ptak-Silva, 8-6 Mixed Doubles Tipton-C. Smith, FHS def. Robertson-J. Silva, 8-0 Photo of Midland Reporter-Telegram Written By Midland Reporter-Telegram Staff reporter for the Midland Reporter-Telegram...

LUBBOCK – The Midland High football team won’t be entering District 2-6A play with the momentum it hoped to. The Bulldogs suffered their third straight loss as they fell 42-17 to Lubbock Coronado in their final non-district game, Thursday at Lowrey Field. The Mustangs (1-3) buried MHS with a string of 28 points in the second quarter, and 35 unanswered points that turned into a 35-3 advantage early in the fourth. The Bulldogs (1-3) will look to regroup before their District 2-6A opener against Odessa High at home on Sept. 24. The Bulldog defense had trouble getting Coronado off the field in favorable down-and-distance situations. On fourth-and-15 at the MHS 29, the Mustangs moved the chains after Jett Carroll connected with Surreal Garrett on a 27-yard pass. One play later, Coronado went ahead 7-3 on a 2-yard scoring run by Antonio Malone with 10:13 left in the first quarter. Late in the second quarter, the Mustangs faced a third-and-14 at midfield following a tackle for a 5-yard loss by MHS linebacker Matteo Houston. Once again being backed up didn’t matter, as Carroll connected with tight end Trevor Stephens for a 51-yard TD pass that gave Coronado a commanding 28-3 lead with 1:06 left in the first half. Malone finished with 147 rushing yards on 12 carries after breaking a 56-yard run at the end of the third quarter. “They had several third-and-long conversions and that hurt us defensively,” MHS head coach Thad Fortune said. “They made some plays. We have to do a better job of tackling, a better job at running to the ball and a better job of when he had chances to make stops, we’ve got to make stops. With a back like (Malone), you can’t give him a second chance.” The Bulldogs triple-option offense didn’t score its first touchdown until the 6:56 mark of the fourth quarter when Brylee Perez rushed for a 1-yard TD. The game was already out of hand at 35-10 at that point. Following an onside kick recovery by Cade Williams, MHS added another score, as Zion Ward rushed for 1-yard TD to cut the deficit to 35-17 with 2:16 left. Ward had 152 rushing yards on 19 attempts. But the Bulldogs missed their chances to seize momentum on their early possessions. On their first possession, MHS converted two first downs before a couple of fumbled exchanges put it in third-and-long and stalled the drive. The Bulldogs had a first-and-goal at the Mustang 8 at the end of the first quarter, but Coronado forced them to kick a 25-yard field goal by Bam Ruiz after stuffing two running plays for a loss. MHS led 3-0 at the end of the first quarter before Coronado’s flurry of 35 points. “Offensively, we had some decent moments,” Fortune said. “Early on especially, I thought we left some points on the board. You just can’t afford to do that. That will always come back to get you. We’ve just got to continue to tighten up our execution, continue to get better in that regard and keep moving forward.” Trailing 7-3, MHS gave Coronado another big play when Cam Manahan stepped in front of a pass and returned it 48 yards for an interception return. “They did as good as you could ask,” said Coronado head coach DJ Mann of his defense against the triple-option. “They didn’t complete a lot of big passes on us and that’s one thing I was worried about. I’m worried about them eating a lot of clock. We held them out on a couple of big third downs and fourth downs.” Mann got his first win as head coach after serving as Cedar Hill offensive coordinator last year. Follow Christopher on Twitter: @chris_MRTsports LUBBOCK CORONADO 42, MIDLAND HIGH 17 Midland 3 0 0 14 -- 17 Coronado 0 28 0 14 -- 42 First Quarter MHS – FG Bam Ruiz 25, 2:12 Second Quarter COR – Antonio Malone 2 run (Carson Shields kick), 10:13 COR – Cam Manahan 48 interception return (Shields kick), 8:00 COR – Jikri McGrew 27 pass from Jett Carroll (Shields kick), 5:05 COR – Trevor Stephens 51 pass from Carroll (Shields kick), 1:06 Fourth Quarter COR – Carroll 7 run (Shields kick), 11:07 MHS – Brylee Perez 1 run (Ruiz kick), 6:56 MHS – Zion Ward 1 run (Ruiz kick), 2:16 COR – Bricion Griffin 3 run (Shields kick), 1:00 MHS COR First Downs 25 16 Rushes-yards 58-325 20-220 Passing yards 52 201 Comp.-Att.-Int. 7-13-1 14-22-0 Fumbles-lost 4-0 0-0 Punts-Avg. 4-34.0 2-33.0 Penalties-yds. 6-59 9-42 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING – Midland, Zion Ward 19-152, Landry Walls 17-63, Jacob Urias 5-45, Jakob Vines 8-28, Brylee Perez 8-28, Jake Cunningham 1-16, Team 1-(-7). Coronado, Antonio Malone 12-147, Darrion Taylor 1-59, Bricon Griffin 3-9, Obie Williams 1-7, Jett Carroll 3-(-2), PASSING – Midland, Walls 7-13-1—52. Coronado, Carroll 13-20-0—201. RECEIVING – Midland, Ward 3-28, Teagan Marlow 1-7, Noah Crumpler 1-6, Vines 1-6, Perez 1-5. Coronado, Trevor Stephens 2-56, Surreal Garrett 2-50, Jikiri McGrew 3-39, Jordan Kelley 2-23, Malone 3-17, Griffin 1-16 INTERCEPTIONS – Coronado, Cam Manahan 1-48. Photo of Christopher Hadorn Written By Christopher Hadorn Reach Christopher on Sports reporter for the Midland Reporter-Telegram....

LUBBOCK – The Midland High football team won’t be entering District 2-6A play with the momentum it hoped to. The Bulldogs suffered their third straight loss as they fell 42-17 to Lubbock Coronado in their final non-district game, Thursday at Lowrey Field. The Mustangs (1-3) buried MHS with a string of 28 points in the second quarter, and 35 unanswered points that turned into a 35-3 advantage early in the fourth. The Bulldogs (1-3) will look to regroup before their District 2-6A opener against Odessa High at home on Sept. 24. The Bulldog defense had trouble getting Coronado off the field in favorable down-and-distance situations. On fourth-and-15 at the MHS 29, the Mustangs moved the chains after Jett Carroll connected with Surreal Garrett on a 27-yard pass. One play later, Coronado went ahead 7-3 on a 2-yard scoring run by Antonio Malone with 10:13 left in the first quarter. Late in the second quarter, the Mustangs faced a third-and-14 at midfield following a tackle for a 5-yard loss by MHS linebacker Matteo Houston. Once again being backed up didn’t matter, as Carroll connected with tight end Trevor Stephens for a 51-yard TD pass that gave Coronado a commanding 28-3 lead with 1:06 left in the first half. Malone finished with 147 rushing yards on 12 carries after breaking a 56-yard run at the end of the third quarter. “They had several third-and-long conversions and that hurt us defensively,” MHS head coach Thad Fortune said. “They made some plays. We have to do a better job of tackling, a better job at running to the ball and a better job of when he had chances to make stops, we’ve got to make stops. With a back like (Malone), you can’t give him a second chance.” The Bulldogs triple-option offense didn’t score its first touchdown until the 6:56 mark of the fourth quarter when Brylee Perez rushed for a 1-yard TD. The game was already out of hand at 35-10 at that point. Following an onside kick recovery by Cade Williams, MHS added another score, as Zion Ward rushed for 1-yard TD to cut the deficit to 35-17 with 2:16 left. Ward had 152 rushing yards on 19 attempts. But the Bulldogs missed their chances to seize momentum on their early possessions. On their first possession, MHS converted two first downs before a couple of fumbled exchanges put it in third-and-long and stalled the drive. The Bulldogs had a first-and-goal at the Mustang 8 at the end of the first quarter, but Coronado forced them to kick a 25-yard field goal by Bam Ruiz after stuffing two running plays for a loss. MHS led 3-0 at the end of the first quarter before Coronado’s flurry of 35 points. “Offensively, we had some decent moments,” Fortune said. “Early on especially, I thought we left some points on the board. You just can’t afford to do that. That will always come back to get you. We’ve just got to continue to tighten up our execution, continue to get better in that regard and keep moving forward.” Trailing 7-3, MHS gave Coronado another big play when Cam Manahan stepped in front of a pass and returned it 48 yards for an interception return. “They did as good as you could ask,” said Coronado head coach DJ Mann of his defense against the triple-option. “They didn’t complete a lot of big passes on us and that’s one thing I was worried about. I’m worried about them eating a lot of clock. We held them out on a couple of big third downs and fourth downs.” Mann got his first win as head coach after serving as Cedar Hill offensive coordinator last year. Follow Christopher on Twitter: @chris_MRTsports LUBBOCK CORONADO 42, MIDLAND HIGH 17 Midland 3 0 0 14 -- 17 Coronado 0 28 0 14 -- 42 First Quarter MHS – FG Bam Ruiz 25, 2:12 Second Quarter COR – Antonio Malone 2 run (Carson Shields kick), 10:13 COR – Cam Manahan 48 interception return (Shields kick), 8:00 COR – Jikri McGrew 27 pass from Jett Carroll (Shields kick), 5:05 COR – Trevor Stephens 51 pass from Carroll (Shields kick), 1:06 Fourth Quarter COR – Carroll 7 run (Shields kick), 11:07 MHS – Brylee Perez 1 run (Ruiz kick), 6:56 MHS – Zion Ward 1 run (Ruiz kick), 2:16 COR – Bricion Griffin 3 run (Shields kick), 1:00 MHS COR First Downs 25 16 Rushes-yards 58-325 20-220 Passing yards 52 201 Comp.-Att.-Int. 7-13-1 14-22-0 Fumbles-lost 4-0 0-0 Punts-Avg. 4-34.0 2-33.0 Penalties-yds. 6-59 9-42 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING – Midland, Zion Ward 19-152, Landry Walls 17-63, Jacob Urias 5-45, Jakob Vines 8-28, Brylee Perez 8-28, Jake Cunningham 1-16, Team 1-(-7). Coronado, Antonio Malone 12-147, Darrion Taylor 1-59, Bricon Griffin 3-9, Obie Williams 1-7, Jett Carroll 3-(-2), PASSING – Midland, Walls 7-13-1—52. Coronado, Carroll 13-20-0—201. RECEIVING – Midland, Ward 3-28, Teagan Marlow 1-7, Noah Crumpler 1-6, Vines 1-6, Perez 1-5. Coronado, Trevor Stephens 2-56, Surreal Garrett 2-50, Jikiri McGrew 3-39, Jordan Kelley 2-23, Malone 3-17, Griffin 1-16 INTERCEPTIONS – Coronado, Cam Manahan 1-48. Photo of Christopher Hadorn Written By Christopher Hadorn Reach Christopher on Sports reporter for the Midland Reporter-Telegram....