#HSFT18 Stop No. 25 — Vernon Bulldogs

*District games

VERNON, AL. (WCBI) — A new challenge awaits the Vernon Bulldogs in 2018.

The Bulldogs make the leap from 2A and 3A, and will have to go through the likes of Gordo, Oakman, and Winfield in region 4.

Head coach Robbie Bradford said the Bulldogs are now the smallest school in 3A this upcoming season.

An experienced group returns, and this Bulldogs team knows how to win.

Back-to-back playoff appearances has the players confident they can make some noise.

“Everybody thinks of us as an underdog, and that’s been the way for the past two years, and I’m ready to come out and show people what we got,” senior wide receiver and cornerback C.J. Wise said.

“I know we can do it. There’s no ‘I think we can do it’, I believe we can do it, I know we can do it. 3A is just a number,” senior wide receiver and outside linebacker Isaac Whittle said.

“We tell our guys all the time winning is an attitude,” Bradford said.

“Winning is the way you do things. So the opponents have changed, but we’re doing the same things, the same way and our standards haven’t changed so we’re just excited for this new opportunity.”

Being the underdogs is nothing new to Vernon, and there will be a lot to prove this upcoming fall.

But for the guys inside the locker room, it’s just a matter of doing the little things right, and everything will fall into place.

“I feel like if we come together like I know we can, and we get hot and our offense is working and our defense is doing what it did last year, we’ll be fine,” senior quarterback Ric Rogers said.

“There’s expectations in this community that are not necessarily winning and losing, but how you play the game with the effort level and character. That was one of our big preaching points last year teaching them, it means something to be a Vernon Bulldog,” Bradford said.

The Bulldogs will being the 2018 season on a three-game road trip, starting with a rivalry showdown with South Lamar on August 24th.