Matt Wixon

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WYLIE – The home team entered the field Friday night in its typically impressive way: through an inflatable skull. The band started up, the crowd at Pirate Stadium roared and the Wylie players ran onto the field alongside black flags printed with white skulls and crossbones.

Pretty intimidating for an opponent. And so is this year's Wylie team, which rolled to a 44-0 victory over McKinney Boyd in the District 8-5A opener for both teams.

Wylie (5-0) dominated from the start, proving that it wasn't looking ahead to next week's showdown with Plano (5-0). The Wylie offense moved the ball up and down the field, and the matchup of the Pirates' defense against one of the area's top runners, quarterback Daryn Alves, was a mismatch. Alves averaged more than 200 rushing yards per game before Friday, but he had less than 30 by the time Wylie was leading Boyd (3-2), 34-0, midway through the third quarter.

It gave reason to believe what Wylie quarterback Jerod Monk said last week – that this is the best Wylie team ever.

"This year has been past my expectations," said the 6-5, 230-pound senior, who ran for touchdowns of 42 and 52 yards on Friday. "We have the team to do it this year."

So what is "it"?

Well, the players won't say because Wylie's motto is "one day at a time." But it undoubtedly has something to do with a deep playoff run, which Wylie hasn't made since moving up to Class 5A in 2006.

When Wylie moved up, some wondered if it would be able to compete in a district with the schools from Plano and Allen, which are among the biggest in the state. Wylie struggled to a 3-7 record in 2006, but it made the playoffs last season. And this year, the Pirates have risen to No. 7 in SportsDay's 5A area rankings.

They're big dogs now, although still underdogs.

"If I was a spectator watching us, I'd say, 'They look undersized,'" said 5-11, 240-pound nose guard Nikita Whitlock. "They have a small defensive line, they have small linebackers, they have small defensive backs.

"But they play like they're nine feet tall."

Wylie plays with that kind of confidence. In the words of coach Bill Howard, the Pirates play with "edge."

They had a big edge against Boyd, a team that moved up to 5A this season and is the smallest school in the district. But next week, most people will give the edge to Plano, which is No. 2 in the area rankings and beat Wylie, 35-7, last season.

But Wylie won't be intimidated. It knows it can play with anyone.

"Even if we're smaller than you, we're still going to come out and hit you hard," said Monk, who has lived in Wylie his whole life. "We respect everyone and fear no one."