TIOGA BULLDOGS
The Tioga Bulldogs will open their 2026 season with a bang, facing the rival No. 5 ranked Collinsville Pirates in the Battle of the Bridge.
With their roster healthy after an injury-riddled 2025 season, the Bulldogs are back on the prowl, looking to stamp their signature brand of football on their opponents, starting with their Week 1 matchup against the Pirates.
“It was a career’s worth of bad luck all in one season, but at the end of the day, no matter what we faced last year, it’s a part of the game, and we didn’t live up to our standard,” said Zach Birdwell, Tioga athletic director and head football coach. “… That’s not our standard, so the vision for this year hasn’t changed. We’re here for playoff football and here to bring home gold footballs.”
The Bulldogs should enter the matchup hungry, looking to snap the Pirates' four-game winning streak, with Tioga’s last win in the series happening in 2021.
Tioga is headlined by a talented group of seniors, featuring receiver Jaxson Hurst, who led the way with 70 receptions for 1,106 yards and 14 TDs, and twoway standout Justin Arrington.
“Our running back spot is a bit of a question mark; … it's going to be running back by committee, but we brought back four of our five offensive linemen,” Birdwell said. “We have a healthy Jake David, a thousand- yard receiver in Jaxson Hurst, and the speed of the Arrington brothers, along with Cole Boyd, who had a run of bad luck for two years but has done everything he can do to be ready and set himself up for a successful season.”
On the other side of the ball, Tioga’s defense will look to contain Collinsville’s offense led by quarterback Paxton Davidson, who threw for 2,713 yards and 36 TDs, and running back Chase Sheppard, who tallied 990 rushing yards and 11 TDs.
Birdwell highlighted Tioga’s new defensive coordinator, Steven Stadler, who he said has the Bulldogs defense ready to smother opponents.
“We have a vision here as a staff that’s about coaching kids hard and putting them in the right spots to be successful, and Coach Stadler is doing that on the defensive side,” he said. “We’re going to have some familiar guys in new positions and some names people may not be familiar that we’re really excited about.”
The Bulldogs may hold a slight advantage in the trenches, with the Pirates replacing four offensive linemen.
Birdwell said his team’s experience has already been a big plus as his team prepared to kick off the season.
“These kids know what is expected of them; they know what practice, games, and the offseason look like, so now we’re focusing on how we want to execute those things that have helped us earn our first playoff win and take out our first district championship and get us where we want to be, which is playing Thanksgiving and December football,” Birdwell said.
Tioga and Collinsville were scheduled to play at 7 p.m. Thursday at Bulldog Stadium.
The results were not available by press time.
