Bulldogs, Lady Dogs to face familiar foes in UIL redistricting

Starting next year for the 2022-2023 season, the Marlin Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs sports team will be having a new set of district opponents. 

As of now, the UIL has posted the new district reclassification and realignment for football, basketball, and volleyball. Marlin will not switch conferences and will remain in 2A. 

First up, the Marlin football team. The Bulldogs will remain in 2A Division 1, they will also stay in Region 3 District 8. The number of teams in their district also grew from five to seven. 

“The advantage is the travel, the disadvantage is the coaches and players have to accelerate the process,” Coach Ruben Torres said. “District play and playoff implications will happen sooner; health, momentum, team continuity, and installs will have to happen sooner than normal.” 

Some of their opponents next year will Bruceville-Eddy, Moody, Riesel, Rosebud-Lott, and Valley Mills. 

“It is a very competitive district, and has to be one of the toughest and most respected districts in 2A Division 1,” Torres said. “Crawford is always a perennial threat. Bosqueville is mainstay in the playoffs. Riesel under their new coach made an impressive run in 3A last season. Rosebud is athletic and can get rolling quickly. Valley Mills is on the rise. Bruceville-Eddy plays a physical brand of football and Moody is familiar with most of the district. There are no weeks off.” 

The two other new teams are Bosqueville and Crawford, teams that Marlin defeated in last years playoffs in their run to the semifinals.

“I have a lot of respect for Coach Jacobs (Crawford) and Coach Zander (Bosqueville),” Torres said. “They will be looking to get their lick back and we know we are not sneaking up on anyone. I expect the atmosphere to be playoff-like; that is exactly what we want and how our team will prepare every week. We have worked extremely hard to set an expectation and play a brand of football our community can be proud of. The bar has been set extremely high and we have a lot more to accomplish. Last year is behind us and it is a new year, last years wins do not count for this year.” 

Up next is the volleyball team. The Lady Bulldogs will stay in Region 2, but will now be moving to District 16. They will also be in a smaller district as they will have four opponents as opposed to seven. Those teams will be Chilton, Riesel, Rosebud-Lott, and Bremond, who is a reigning regional finalist. 

Last there are the basketball teams. The Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs will not be moving anywhere as they will remain in Region 3 District 18. Their district also grew, as they will go from having five opponents to seven. They will have the familiar foes, Axtell, Bremond, Mart, Dawson, and Wortham. The two new teams to the district will be Hubbard and Riesel. All of these changes will remain from 2022-2024.