After an 0-2 start to the 2026 high school football season, the Carmi-White County Bulldogs will hit the road once again this Friday night as they travel to McLeansboro to take on the Hamilton County Foxes.
Carmi opened the year with arguably the toughest two-game stretch they could have asked for, facing the two teams that have separated themselves from the rest of the Black Diamond Conference. The Bulldogs traveled to Johnston City in Week 1 and held a halftime lead over the Indians before Johnston City rallied in the second half to pull out the victory.
Then came Week 2, when the Bulldogs welcomed Flora for Carmi’s first home game of the season, and the Wolves showed why many consider them one of the top teams in the conference, jumping out to a 21-0 halftime lead and using their explosive offense to pull away in the 2nd half.
Despite the 0-2 record, the Bulldogs now have an opportunity to turn things around, and standing in their way is a Hamilton County team that has gotten off to its best start in more than two decades.
The Foxes enter Friday night’s matchup with a 2-0 record, marking their first 2-0 start since 2005. Hamilton County has done it in a somewhat unusual fashion, winning both of its first two games by identical 14-0 scores over Red Hill and Sesser-Valier. It hasn’t always been the prettiest football from the Foxes, but they’ve found ways to win.
Hamilton County returns a majority of their starters from 2025, a season in which the Foxes won just one game; a 32-16 victory over the Bulldogs.
So while the Bulldogs are looking for their first win of the season, Hamilton County will be looking for back-to-back wins over Carmi for the first time since the 2019 and 2021 spring seasons.
One of the biggest names returning for the Foxes is quarterback Dallas Benbrook.
Benbrook earned All-BDC Honorable Mention honors last season as a sophomore after accounting for more than 1,400 yards of total offense and 17 total touchdowns. He was also a major factor in the Foxes’ win over the Bulldogs, rushing for 114 yards and two touchdowns while throwing for 92 yards and a score.
The Foxes also return their second-leading rusher from a year ago in Kyle Williams. Williams, now a senior, rushed for 250 yards and two touchdowns during his junior campaign.
Another player the Bulldogs will have to keep an eye on is Chase Peyton, the younger brother of 2024 CWCHS graduate Gavin Peyton.
Peyton began last season along the offensive line before making the move to the backfield late in the year. The move paid off, as he rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns in just three games as the Foxes’ fullback. He returns to that role again this season.
Hamilton County will run a similar offense to what the Bulldogs saw from the Foxes last season, using a variety of shotgun formations while looking to put the football in the hands of Benbrook and its other playmakers.
That means the Bulldogs will have to find a way to slow down a quarterback who has already shown that he can make plays with both his arm and his legs.
“A majority of his rushing yards come from scrambles, and he (Benbrook) does throw the ball really well. Our coverage has to be really good on the back end,” said Wolff. “We have to contain him. When he’s scrambling, we have to go get him in a box and get him to the ground because he is a very dynamic athlete.”
While Hamilton County has found a way to put up two shutouts to start the season, Carmi’s offense has had its struggles through the first two weeks.
The Bulldogs managed just 157 yards of total offense against Flora before Cooper Hill broke loose for a 75-yard touchdown run in the final minutes of the game.
Carmi will see a very similar defensive style from the Foxes on Friday night, meaning the Bulldogs will have to find ways to get the offense moving and avoid the mistakes that have stalled drives during the first two weeks.
“When you look at the first half last week, we just didn’t execute our assignments very well in our blocking schemes,” said Wolff. “Our first offensive series of the second half, we got a hat on a hat and we were running downhill, that’s what we’re capable of. We have to execute better in the first half, we can’t just wait until the second half to do those things.”
For the Bulldogs, Friday night is about more than just trying to get into the win column, it’s an opportunity to put the first two weeks behind them and start fresh.
Carmi has already gone through two of the toughest tests on its schedule, and now the Bulldogs have a chance to build some momentum heading into the heart of the season. But to do that, they’ll have to take care of business against a Hamilton County team that is playing with plenty of confidence right now.
Of course, the Bulldogs also have to deal with another opponent this week that doesn’t wear a helmet or pads.
Mother Nature has thrown a heatwave at the midwest, forcing Carmi to make some adjustments to their normal practice schedule throughout the week.
The Bulldogs were limited to helmet-only walkthroughs on Monday and Tuesday, while Wednesday’s practice was moved all the way up to 6:00 AM in an effort to beat the heat.
It’s certainly not an ideal way to prepare for a football game, but it’s something both teams have had to deal with throughout the week.
“We had to make some changes. We’ve followed the IHSA guidelines in regards to the heat. It’s a challenge, but we’re not the only school having to face it,” said Wolff. “It is what it is, but we’ll get through it and our kids have done a great job. Unfortunately next week doesn’t look a lot better.”
Kickoff is currently scheduled for 7:00 PM Friday night in McLeansboro, although that time could potentially be pushed back because of the heat.
Fans can watch and listen to the game on 97.3 FM WRUL and the WRUL Sports YouTube Channel. The Taylor Eye Care pregame show will begin 30 minutes prior to kickoff.