WEST UNION, W.Va. — In the most prolific decade to date for the Doddridge County football program, the Bulldogs have made nine consecutive playoff appearances and they have posted a record of 91-25 with twelve postseason wins. In their first year since being reclassified into Class AA last fall, Doddridge went 12-1 with a win at unbeaten Independence before falling at eventual state champion Frankfort in the semifinal round.
“It was very special. What we did was crazy good,” said Doddridge County head coach Bobby Burnside. “12-1 and losing to the state champion in the semifinals was just a very special season. It was a special group of athletes that go down in the history books.”
“Every week battling it out and going closer and closer to your dreams of a high school championship. I know it wasn’t how you wanted it to turn out, but we fought,” said Doddridge County junior lineman Jacob Britton. “We’re going to come back and hopefully get it done.”
The Bulldogs featured a senior-heavy lineup in 2025. Many new starters need to work their way into bigger roles. 15th-year head coach Bobby Burnside says players that built themselves up in the program now await greater opportunities.
“We’ve got a lot of up and coming underclassmen. We’ll get them to know the plays a little bit more and with more conditioning, I think we’ll be pretty good,” said Doddridge County senior RB/LB Brandon Davis.
“You graduate great players and there’s opportunities,” Burnside said. “It is rewarding to see younger players or inexperienced players make the jump, get on the field and be successful.”
Some of the most experienced returners for Doddridge can be found on the lines and the linebacker group. Dayne Murphy racked up 127 tackles last year as a junior.
“We return an all-conference lineman in Jacob Britton on both sides, senior Aaron Glaspell and junior Thad Gum. Those are our returning starters,” Burnside said.
DoCo’s leading returning rusher is senior Brandon Davis. He rushed for 476 yards and six touchdowns last season.
“He has always been ready to step up,” Britton said. “I know he has what it takes to lead this team.”
Senior Evan Cross is set to step in as the new starting quarterback for the Bulldogs.
“He’s got great size. He’s got a big arm,” Burnside said. “He needs the reps and he has shown a lot of improvement this summer. You look at Brandon Davis, he has spent a lot of his high school career as a fullback. He is going to get a lot of reps at tailback this year. He runs hard and he catches well. Heston Hayes, Kyle Satterfield, both at receiver and defensive back bring a lot of experience back.”
With many new starters taking on elevated roles this year, it may be challenging to set a bar of expectations for the Bulldogs. Burnside is hoping that similar efforts to the one his team put forth in their last victory in the 2025 quarterfinals can carry them through the season.
“I remember being interviewed after that Independence [state quarterfinal] win and talking about the effort that our guys gave that night to get that win,” Burnside said. “It is going to take that kind of effort — preseason, during the season — trying to get better day-to-day and week-to-week for us to keep the standard going.”