The Hampton Bulldogs weren’t too happy about how last season went, and ‘Dogs head coach Michael Lunsford said the boys in blue are ready to tackle 2018.
In 2017, Hampton finished 4-7 overall while going 2-2 in league play. The Bulldogs fell 45-14 to Rockwood during round one of the TSSAA Class AA playoffs.
“We have a lot of people that we are chomping at the bit to play just because things didn’t go how we wanted last year,” said Lunsford. “We feel like we have something to prove.”
Besides some slight date and location changes, the Bulldogs’ 2018 schedule is the same as last season’s slate, and according to Lunsford, sticking to a schedule can be beneficial since the Bulldogs’ conference is small and makes it tough to fill up a season worth of games.
“Making the schedule is the hardest part for us,” said Lunsford. “Right now, we only have four conference games, and that leaves you having to find six out-of-conference games. That can be difficult, and you end up playing up in classification quite a bit.”
The Class-AA Bulldogs will play three higher-classification schools in 2018 as they face Class AAA Gatlinburg-Pittman (Home, Sept. 7) and Johnson County (Away, Aug. 24). On Sept. 21 at Hampton, the ‘Dogs will take on 5A David Crocket. Last year, the Bulldogs played an exciting, high scoring game at Crockett with the Pioneers pulling out a 56-39 win.
Competing in Region 1-AA, the Bulldogs face Happy Valley (Home, Aug. 24), Sullivan North (Home, Sept. 28), South Greene (Away, Oct. 12), and Cosby (Away, Oct. 26). In 2017, Sullivan North finished first in the conference as the Golden Raiders went untouched at 4-0. The Happy Valley Warriors were runner-up at 3-1, and Lunsford believes that Happy Valley and Sullivan North will be top contenders in 2018.
“For us, it has got to go through Happy Valley and Sullivan North,” said Lunsford. “Both of them have been traditionally good football teams. Both teams work hard at it. They are both tough competition.”
Hampton senior Alex Hardin is expected to start at quarterback while senior Lane Potter is expected to get a lot of touches at running back and junior Caleb Oaks will fill in at fullback. Lunsford is expecting a lot from Hardin, Potter, and Oaks, but also said that the Bulldogs have a lot players who can come in and make a difference.
“Those three will be a big part of our offense,” said Lunsford. “We have a lot of people that can go in and play now. Over the past couple of years, we haven’t had the depth that we have now. We have a lot of kids that played as freshman and sophomores, that will play as sophomores and juniors now, and that little bit of experience makes a big difference.”
A year of Hampton football would not be complete without a match up against Cloudland, and the Bulldogs and Highlanders are expected to meet up on Oct. 5 in Roan Mountain.
“This game is always so important to our communities,” said Lunsford. “It is always exciting when Hampton and Cloudland play each other.”
The Bulldogs will open up 2018 as they host Trinity Academy on Aug. 17.

2018 Hampton Football Schedule

August
17—TRINITY ACADEMY
24—at Johnson County
31—HAPPY VALLEY*
September
7— GATLINBURG-PITTMAN
21—DAVID CROCKETT
28—SULLIVAN NORTH*
October
5—at Cloudland
12—at South Greene*
19— at Unaka
26—at Cosby*