Bulldogs looking to improve on both sides of ball

The Sheffield Bulldogs have seen a good measure of success on the offensive side of the ball over the last two seasons.

However, it’s the defensive side that has kept the team from doing better than 3-7 last year.

Now that head coach Michael Parker is in his second season at the helm of the program, he said the mentality of his players has changed.

“The buy in is better,” he said. “We talked a lot about legacy and integrity within the program. I have talked to them a lot about what legacy you will leave? I think it did touch base with some of them. We have had talent at Sheffield, but the buy in wasn’t there last year. These guys are leading this team to buy in.”

Parker said Sheffield has 12-13 seniors on the roster, but many of the returning players lack experience.

However, he said his team has “worked their tails off and will be ready to go” for the 2026 season.

That campaign will look a good bit different thanks to the 2026-2028 AHSAA reclassification.

Sheffield drops back down to Class 2A and will face several new opponents this year in J.B. Pennington, Winston County, Tanner, Falkville, Phil Campbell and Lexington.

Nonregion opponents will be Haleyville, Red Bay and Clements.

“We don’t have to play Mars Hill (and teams like that now),” Parker said about the new schedule. “I think we will be at the level that we can compete every Friday night and make a statement about Sheffield. We have been 2A numbers wise for 2-3 years, so we are now getting to that level of competition.”

Sheffield has recently finished some new renovations to the football field, including adding a turf playing surface.

During the Football in the South Media Days event on July 14, several of the Bulldog players expressed interest in not only getting to play on the new field but being the first group of seniors to do so.