MARION, Texas—There are just two weeks left in the 2026 regular season, and the Marion Bulldogs are hitting their stride at the perfect time.
Marion improved to 6-2 last week with a dominant 52-0 road win at Luling — a true road shutout, the first for the Bulldogs since the opening game of the 2021 season.
Second-year head coach Joel Call joined KWED’s Bulldog Report this week and said the focus was simple: be efficient, be productive, and be dominant on the road.
“We just challenged our kids like, let’s not give them any life. Let’s get on them early. Keep the pedal to the metal,” Call said. “Our kids did that. We executed. I think we had to punt once.”
The night started with a wrinkle — Luling attempted an onside kick to open the game — but Marion was ready for it.
After giving up a big long run on the first or second play of the game, Marion tightened down and pitched a shutout the rest of the way.
“After that, our kids played really dominant defensively and special teams, we were super efficient there,” Call said. “We’re just really proud of the way our kids came and played for four quarters.”
Offensively, it was one of the most fluid three-phase games of the Call era. Quarterback Hayden Hamilton threw three touchdown passes and fellow QB Cooper Benavides also threw a touchdown, as both signal-callers were clicking.
“Hayden came out and played a really good game for us, and along with Coop, so it was good to see them both clicking,” Call said.
For Call, who spent years at Judson before taking over at Marion, wins like that are about more than the scoreboard — they’re about meeting the standard.
“I always just tell our kids, man, I just get frustrated when I know that we could play at a high level and we’re not playing at a high level,” Call said. “Getting teenage kids to be locked in for an entire four quarters when they’re up by that much is sometimes a challenge. So I was happy with how kids handled it.”
Now Marion returns home to Veterans Stadium for its final home game of the regular season — a place the Bulldogs haven’t lost this year — to host Universal City Randolph.
With the district still wide open and two of the toughest challenges remaining in Randolph and Hallettsville, Call says this shutout was a good bridge into the final stretch.
“Everything’s pretty much wide open in our district, and we got two of the toughest challenges coming up,” Call said. “It’s just something good to bridge us into the next two weeks and just give us some confidence and know hey, if we play like this, good things can happen.”
The fanbase has been a big part of that home success.
“We love playing here. Our student section and our fans do a really good job. Our atmosphere is really special here, so our kids like playing here,” Call said. “We always just want to be a good steward of the game and be a good steward of our community.”
Randolph — the Ro-Hawks — bring one of the more run-heavy attacks Marion has seen this season.
“They do a really good job. Coach over there has done a good job coming there and installed his offense, and they got a lot of wrinkles,” Call said. “They’ll formation you and they try to gain an advantage that way. But their kids play really hard, and they’re super good athletes to go along with that. It’s going to be a good challenge for us.”
Each week, Call gives the Bulldogs a theme. This week: Be A Dog.
“When you got the dog in you, you don’t need the constant motivation. You don’t need a coach or a parent trying to light a fire under your tail and motivate you,” Call explained. “It’s that internal drive that you want to be the best that you can be, and you hold yourself to a higher standard and higher accountability.”
When asked who embodies that, one name came immediately to mind: Emerson Blevins.
“The kid that always comes to my mind is Emerson Blevins, man. That kid holds himself to a higher standard… he’s a dog,” Call said. “Our defensive line has been really productive and allowed those linebackers and secondary guys to get to their spots. In the same way, it’s true when he’s on offense. We can’t do it without our offensive line and quarterback. It’s a team effort.”
Blevins was also selected to this year’s San Antonio All-Star Game.
The 6-2 Bulldogs now have a chance to defend their perfect home record and take another big step toward a return to the postseason.
Marion vs. Universal City Randolph kicks off tonight at 7pm in Veterans Stadium.