Sulphur is ready to bring back its first state title since 2004

“I think 3A is going to be a totally different monster if you take it that way, and I say it’s a monster because I’m not trying to take anything away from anybody from the last couple of years, but it was a Sulphur-Lincoln Christian clash the last two years. We were the best two teams, and we played two unbelievable state championship games. This year, man, there’s a lot of parity.”

With the Sulphur’s Kryptonite, with three-time defending Class 3A champion Lincoln Christian dropping down to 2A, the door is open for the Bulldogs to lift their first gold ball since 2004. But Head Coach Corey Cole knows who else lurks across the state.

“There’s a lot of really good football teams. You’ve got the 2A state champion Jones moving up, Heritage Hall has reloaded, Perkins was young last year. Then, you get into the people: Kingston is coming up, Marlow is coming up just a lot of good football teams—a lot more parity. I think you will see some really good playoffs. Our goal is to just make sure we get better every day. We get punched in the mouth a little bit. We face adversity because we want to be a part of the playoffs, because it’s going to be exciting.”

When you think Sulphur football, you think physical. The Bulldogs love to run the football—but they’ll have to replace their bell cow, Maddax Mobley, who scored 91 touchdowns as a four-year starter. So, who’s next? Well, at Sulphur, they don’t rebuild. They reload. And with five offensive linemen returning, the Bulldogs believe they have plenty of firepower in the backfield.

“We’ve got a really stable of running backs. We’ve got some guys that didn’t play a lot because we had number four back there for the last several years. But JoJo Gray has the potential to have an unbelievable breakout year. Jackson Haggert, Madden Duck, Chase Warden, Carter Cole. We’ve got a lot of guys who are all different.”

The Bulldogs live by three things: faith, family and football. But every season comes with a new motto. In 2024, it was “Believe.” Last year, it was “Finish the Fight.” This year, it’s “Relentless.” And after falling just short the last two seasons, the Bulldogs believe that mindset could be what finally gets them over the mountaintop. 

“Accountability is going to be our key this year, and we will not finish a yard or two short this year.”

“Every time you come to watch us, we will be the most physical team on the field every single time. I just think that we are going to do our best every single game and give everything we got to be a state champ.”