Crockett Bulldogs Pull Off Upset Against Fourth Ranked Marlin

By Greg Ritchie

Messenger Reporter

CROCKETT – The Crockett Bulldog varsity football team pulled off an upset victory over fourth ranked Marlin Friday, Aug. 26. In an almost four hour match, the Bulldogs pulled off an expected victory at home under the new lights.

Bulldogs Head Coach and Crockett Independent School District (CISD) Athletic Director Alton Dixon sat down with some of Friday’s game-makers to speak with the Messenger about the victory. Dixon was Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Coach of the Week for the 3A Division. See the full video at the end of this article, brought to you by Styles by Miles in Crocket.

Coach Alton Dixon

What were your thoughts going into the game?

“I was just locked in to what we needed to do. I believe in the kids and what we’ve done – our preparation and our game plan – I knew exactly what we needed to do. It was kind of my focus, and I have said it 1,000 times. It’s really us versus us. We just need to be locked into what we need to do.”

What were some of the keys to Friday’s victory?

“The first part was stopping their run. Our backs did a really good job. Our front four and our second-level players did a really good job. Trying to maintain leverage with the outside running game and the screen game. That was a big part of it. Zendric Anderson, Jonathan Lockhart – a lot of the kids played really well. That’s what we needed to do: pitch a shutout in the second half. Just a few simple adjustments.”

How would you rate the officials at Friday’s game?

“I don’t necessarily get upset with the officials. My biggest thing is I just want a fair game. The kids and the coaches work really hard throughout the week. I get it; they’re going to miss a call. I totally understand the situation. But I’ve got to fight for my kids and my coaches. You are never going to be happy with the calls. You are just looking for a good balance.”

How do you see this Friday’s game at Rusk?

“They are a really good football team. They have a really good defense. Coach Sitton is a really good coach with a good program. Offensively, they have really good players. We have our hands full.”

Quarterback Jadyn Collins

“I think I did pretty good. There are some things I need to fix. I need to make my reads faster. Not only me, but with the rest of my teammates – we felt like we are ‘the man’!”

Running back Tywain Delane

“They (Marlin) didn’t just give it to us – we had to fight for it as a team. Luckily none of us broke off. We all stayed together and worked to win it. Especially our receivers. It was probably one of the toughest games they had to fight through.”

Linebacker Zandric Anderson

“It went pretty good. I messed up on a couple of plays. I need to listen to the coach and play a few yards back.”

The Bulldogs travel to Rusk this Friday, Sept. 2 to take on the Eagles.