Pregame show at 6:45 p.m. — Kickoff at 7 p.m. from Yellow Jacket Stadium
A new season of Boyd Yellow Jackets football begins tonight, and you can catch every snap live right here as Boyd hosts the Tolar Rattlers at Yellow Jacket Stadium.
The pregame show kicks off at 6:45 p.m., with kickoff set for 7 p.m. NTXVarsitySports.com is the new radio voice of YellowJackets football, and tonight marks the first regular-season broadcast of the partnership. Prefer to listen on the go? The full broadcast is also available on the NTX Varsity Sports app, download it free and take the call of the game with you wherever Friday night finds you.
A Program on the Rise Meets a Program with a Pedigree
Tonight’s opener is a meeting of two teams heading in different directions off very different 2025 seasons, and both looking to make a statement in Week 1.
For Boyd, 2025 was a breakthrough. In head coach Shawn Sparks’ debut season, the YellowJackets went 5-5 in the regular season and finished 5-6 overall, snapping a stretch of back-to-back 1-9 campaigns and earning the program’s first playoff berth since 2020.
Now comes the harder part: doing it again. Boyd spent fall camp working to replace 12 starters from last year’s playoff team, and Sparks has been candid about what that means for a young roster.
“We’re very young, but I expect us to continue to build from where we were last year,” Sparks told NTX Varsity Sports during the preseason, adding that the season will come down to whether the YellowJackets play to their talent or play to their age.
One familiar face Boyd can lean on is receiver Leighton Wheeler, who led the team in receptions a season ago and headlines the returning group. The YellowJackets tuned up with scrimmages against Bridgeport and Graham before turning their attention to tonight.
The Rattlers Come to Wise County
Boyd’s first test is a serious one. Tolar arrives with one of the strongest resumes in Class 3A, having reached the playoffs in 13 of the past 14 seasons, including each of its first two years after moving up from Class 2A.
The Rattlers’ recent history speaks for itself. In 2023, Tolar rode a punishing ground game all the way to the Class 2A Division I state championship game at AT&T Stadium, finishing 14-2 in the program’s first-ever state final appearance. Bumped up to Class 3A in 2024, Tolar didn’t miss a beat, going 11-2 and sweeping its district at 5-0 in head coach Blake Mouser’s first season.
Last fall was a step back by Tolar standards, a young Rattlers squad finished 4-7, but the program still extended its playoff streak, and Mouser, a 2025 Dave Campbell’s Texas Football 40 Under 40 selection known for his physical, power-run offense, welcomes back a roster that grew up fast on Friday nights. Tonight is Tolar’s season opener as well, after scrimmages against Early and Jacksboro.
What to Watch
The matchup within the matchup: Boyd’s rebuilt lineup against Tolar’s trademark physicality. If the YellowJackets’ young front can hold up against the Rattlers’ downhill running game, Boyd has the playmakers to make it a night to remember at Yellow Jacket Stadium. Either way, Week 1 answers start arriving at 7 p.m. sharp.
Game Information
Who: Tolar Rattlers at Boyd Yellow Jackets When: Tonight with Pregame at 6:45 p.m., kickoff at 7 p.m. Where: Yellow Jacket Stadium, Boyd, Texas
How to listen: Live right here on NTXVarsitySports.com, on the NTX Varsity Sports YouTube channel, or on the NTX Varsity Sports app, with Woody Jennings on the call
Tune In Tonight
A breakthrough season deserves an encore, and it all starts tonight. Join us at 6:45 p.m. for the pregame show, stick around for kickoff at 7, and follow the YellowJackets all season long right here on NTXVarsitySports.com and the NTX Varsity Sports app.