![\"Geneva](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/YVOR6CYQJNBZNE27OC6F32EVAA.png\")
Geneva County Bulldogs 2026 Football Schedule(WTVY)<\/p>\nHARTFORD, Ala. (WTVY) – You can\u2019t fake toughness, and after a 4-6 season in 2025 marked by injuries, the Geneva County Bulldogs have spent the summer trying to build more of it.<\/p>\n
Head coach Al Gilmore said the Bulldogs\u2019 offseason focus started in the weight room, where a young team has worked to improve its strength, endurance and flexibility before the grind of football season begins.<\/p>\n
Last year, Geneva County battled through a long list of injuries \u2014 at one point missing nine starters, according to Gilmore. Still, the Bulldogs stayed competitive until the end, finishing the year with a hard-fought loss to Slocomb and narrowly missing the chance to finish .500.<\/p>\n
Rather than dwell on what could have been, Gilmore said his players used those setbacks as motivation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t live in that world,\u201d Gilmore said of the \u201cshoulda, coulda, wouldas\u201d surrounding last season. \u201cMy kids, to their credit, they persevered. It was next man up.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bulldogs return several key contributors who missed time last year, including senior Ellis Thames, a hybrid safety-linebacker who is back at full speed after tearing his ACL.<\/p>\n
Running back Jamarion Williams is also returning after an injury-shortened season in which he still rushed for more than 1,000 yards and scored 14 touchdowns in just six games. Gilmore said Williams has added weight and strength during the offseason and will be counted on not only as a playmaker, but as a leader.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a weight-room warrior,\u201d Gilmore said. \u201cI\u2019m expecting him to have a big season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Geneva County will also lean on players such as Jayce Fuller along the offensive and defensive lines, as well as tight end Ryan Morris, who played through a broken hand last season. Morris has added size in the offseason, now standing around 6-foot-4 and more than 220 pounds, Gilmore said.<\/p>\n
The Bulldogs will have to replace graduated quarterback Cade Hutchins, a second-team All-State selection last season. Gilmore said there is no replacing a player like Hutchins, but sophomore Logan Ford is ready to take the next step.<\/p>\n
Ford, listed at about 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds, has transformed physically since arriving in the program, Gilmore said. The young quarterback has added roughly 15 pounds of muscle and has emerged as one of the team\u2019s hardest workers.<\/p>\n
Gilmore believes Ford and Williams could give the Bulldogs a dynamic pairing in the backfield.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis level of dedication to this team, to this community, to the Geneva County Bulldogs is unparalleled,\u201d Gilmore said of Ford. \u201cI\u2019m excited to see him and Jamarion in the same backfield.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bulldogs are still a relatively small team, with Gilmore expecting a roster of about 30 to 32 players. That makes conditioning, staying healthy and maximizing every player\u2019s role especially important.<\/p>\n
Players Grayson Hackett and Brannon Turner said the group has embraced the demanding summer work.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve worked hard all summer,\u201d Turner said. \u201cWe\u2019re really excited to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hackett said the key to competing in a difficult region will be showing up every day ready to work, even through the summer heat.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust really coming to practice aggressively, locked in,\u201d Hackett said. \u201cIt\u2019s hot, but you\u2019ve got to keep that energy up and be motivated to practice.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Gilmore, the program\u2019s mission goes beyond wins and losses.<\/p>\n
He said the Bulldogs emphasize discipline, respect and accountability \u2014 lessons he hopes players carry into the classroom, their homes and the community. Gilmore pointed to the team\u2019s reputation for few discipline referrals and the way players help clean up after community meals as examples of that standard.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy job is not to win football games,\u201d Gilmore said. \u201cMy job is to show young boys how to become young men and young men how to become grown men.\u201d<\/p>\n
That approach has helped build trust inside the program, Gilmore said. He believes a talented sophomore and junior group is beginning to understand what Geneva County football is supposed to look like.<\/p>\n
The Bulldogs know they may not be the biggest team on the field every Friday night. But Gilmore said they plan to be physical, disciplined and unapologetic about their identity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe uniquely embrace who Geneva County is and what Geneva County football wants to be,\u201d Gilmore said. \u201cWe\u2019re physical. We\u2019re unapologetic. We\u2019re not going to play dirty, but we\u2019re going to be physical.\u201d<\/p>\n
And after a summer spent in the weight room, on the practice field and pushing one another through conditioning, the Bulldogs believe they are ready to show that toughness when it matters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a small team,\u201d Turner said, \u201cbut just working hard together \u2014 teamwork \u2014 that\u2019s our strength.\u201d<\/p>\n
Geneva County Bulldogs 2026 Football Schedule(WTVY)<\/p>\n
GENEVA COUNTY BULLDOGS 2026 SCHEDULE<\/p>\n
Friday, 8\/21 | @ Geneva<\/p>\n
Friday, 8\/28 | vs Kinston<\/p>\n
Friday, 9\/4 | vs Houston County*<\/p>\n
Friday, 9\/11 | @ Cottonwood*<\/p>\n
Friday, 9\/18 | vs Highland Home8<\/p>\n
Friday, 9\/25 | OPEN<\/p>\n
Thursday, 10\/1 | vs Zion Chapel*<\/p>\n
Friday, 10\/9 | @ G.W. Long*<\/p>\n
Friday, 10\/16 | vs Goshen*<\/p>\n
Friday, 10\/23 | @ Ariton*<\/p>\n
Friday, 10\/30 | @ Slocomb<\/p>\n
* – Denotes region game<\/p>\n
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