The Alvord Bulldogs (8-2, 6-0) clinched the District 6-2A Division I title with a 62-28 road win against Wolfe City Friday at Don Howard Stadium. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER

When coach Matt Fanning was hired to take over Alvord’s program in January, his desire was to write a new chapter of Bulldog football that brought the team back to having fun playing the game he loves. 

The Bulldogs and their first-year coach stepped onto the grass at Wolfe City’s Don Howard Stadium for the District 6-2A Division I finale Friday, and walked away with the league’s top prize.

Behind a dominant performance in the run game, Alvord (8-2, 6-0) rushed for 517 yard against the Wolves en route to a 62-28 victory at Don Howard Stadium — allowing the Bulldogs to hoist their first league title since 2014.

“We’re having a lot of fun right now,” Fanning said. “That was probably one of the most complete games that we’ve put out. I think we’re peaking at the right time going into the playoffs. These kids have done everything we’ve asked them to do since February. We were fortunate enough to bring in a ton of really good coaches, and everyone’s responded really well. We’re in a good place right now.”

Alvord running backs Zane Fuentes and Cutter Hamilton carried the Bulldogs to the win, combining for 500 of the teams’ rushing yards and eight touchdowns. The coach gave credit to the Bulldogs’ offensive line for allowing the team’s run game to shine. 

“We’ve got some really good football players across the board in our front seven,” Fanning said. “Those guys did a phenomenal job, and our backs were able to execute. We were actually four-deep at running back before Kamper [Barnes] went down. I’m really proud of Cutter tonight. Zane played both ways the entire game, and Cutter was able to come in with fresh legs — he’s a different look for other teams, and he’s done a good job the last two games with some timely runs and good cuts that helped us down the road.” 

Alvord running back Zane Fuentes ran for 334 yards and six touchdowns on 19 carries in the Bulldogs’ 62-28 win against Wolfe City in the District 6-2A Division I finale Friday at Don Howard Stadium. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER

The contest started as a back-and-forth battle between Fuentes and Wolfe City running back HD Davis, as both carried in two touchdowns in the first quarter to tie the game at 14. 

However, the momentum shifted in Alvord’s favor after Davis — a Kansas State commit — suffered an apparent injury early in the second quarter, and was limited for the remainder of the game.

The Bulldogs took advantage of Davis’ absence. Fuentes tacked on a pair of consecutive scores in the second quarter measuring 7 and 72 yards, while quarterback Dalton George tossed a 54-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Zane Smith. The Bulldogs held a 35-14 advantage at the break.

“We had a 3-hour drive over here, and we were thinking the whole ride that we needed to just play Alvord football — it wasn’t anything extraordindary or out of the normal,” Fuentes said. “We knew we had to go out there and do our jobs and go play hard for four quarters. If we do that, we know what the outcome will be. It really came down to getting those crucial stops on defense late in the first half.”

Named the Week 7 2A Built Ford Tough Player of the Week after a 49-42 home win against previously-undefeated Tom Bean Oct. 10, Fuentes led the Bulldogs’ rushing attack against Wolfe City with 334 yards and six touchdowns on 19 carries. He said earning the league title in his senior season was a great feeling. 

“Growing up here since I was a little kid, playing on the pee-wee fields and watching the high school team, I wanted to be like those guys one day,” he said. “I saw all of their success, but we haven’t seen that as this year’s senior class over the past three years. We know we’re a special group, and we couldn’t have gotten here without our offensive line. They’re the real reason we’re district champs.”

Alvord running back Cutter Hamilton racked up 166 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ 62-28 road win over Wolfe City Friday. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER

Fuentes and Hamilton both turned in 27-yard rushing scores within the first 5 minutes of the second half before Wolfe City quarterback Noah Adams tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Casen Pessel.

Just 12 seconds into the fourth quarter, Fuentes carried in his sixth rushing touchdown of the game on a 10-yard carry. Hamilton added a 6-yard dash across the goal line following Adams’ 13-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Daniel Guillen. 

“When Zane was worn out, I went in, held the rope and did my part,” Hamilton said. “It’s hard to come by a team that has two backs who don’t miss a beat when they swap out in the backfield like we do. With the way we play, it’s hard for other teams to stop us.” 

Under center, George completed three of his seven passing attempts for 75 yards. He tossed two passes to Smith for 57 yards, while wide receiver Bradyen Clark tallied 18 yards on one reception.

Alvord’s Drew Staley celebrates after a big defensive play in the second half against Wolfe City Friday. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER

For Wolfe City, Davis rushed for 137 yards and two scores — the bulk of which came in the first quarter. 

Adams threw for 267 yards and one touchdown on 20-of-49 passing. Pessel snagged 7 passes from Adams, and finished as the Wolves’ top receiver with 138 yards.

The Bulldogs open the 2025 2AI postseason with a bi-district match against Hico 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14 at Brock High School’s Eagle Stadium. 

Hico (6-4) placed fourth in 5-2AI behind Hamilton, De Leon and Bangs. The Tigers were shut out by Ballinger in its league finale Friday, 41-0. 

Fanning believes the Bulldogs have what it takes to make a deep playoff run in his first campaign. 

“At the beginning of the year, we talked about how our ceiling is as high as our guys want to set it,” Fanning said. “We’ll take the playoffs like we did in the regular season — one game at a time. The next opponent is the one we’re worried about, and we’ll take care of them and move on to the next one. We’re not done yet.” 

Alvord players shower coach Matt Fanning with a water cooler following the Bulldogs’ 62-28 District 6-2A Division I title-clinching win over Wolfe City Friday at Don Howard Stadium. The win served as the first league championship in Fanning’s tenure at Alvord. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER

Key takeaways

Bulldogs’ run game is lethal with Fuentes, Hamilton in backfield

Alvord only threw the ball seven times against Wolfe City, but that was enough as the two-headed rushing monster of Fuentes and Hamilton had no trouble finding holes in the Wolves’ defense.

The two backs combined for 22 of Alvord’s 25 first downs, and averaged 13.5 yards per carry.

Fanning has turned Alvord’s program around in first season

In two years under former coach Marcus Grgurich, the Bulldogs were third and fourth-place finishers in league play, and exited the postseason in the first round in both campaigns. 

Predicted to finish third in Fanning’s first season according to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, the former Hardin-Simmons University tight ends coach has breathed new life into the Bulldogs, and has the program ready to behind hunting for gold ball trophies starting next week. 

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