There were plenty of questions surrounding the Carmi-White County Bulldogs heading into the opening week of the 2026 IHSA football season.
After going 0-9 last year, there was a lot to prove for a Bulldog team that entered Friday night with plenty of young players returning with another year of experience under their belts.
One thing became clear by the end of the night: these are not the same Bulldogs.
Carmi traveled to Johnston City on Friday night to take on the reigning Black Diamond Conference champions, knowing they would have their hands full from the opening kickoff. The Indians have been the team to beat in the BDC for much of the last decade, winning five of the last six conference championships and doing so in convincing fashion.
But the Bulldogs weren’t intimidated. Not by the Indians, not by the cowbells echoing throughout the stadium, and certainly not by the Harley Davidson motorcycles revving their engines during the pregame.
Once the ball was kicked off, it was time to play football, and Carmi came out ready to battle.
The Bulldogs received the opening kickoff and immediately put together one of their best drives in recent memory. Carmi marched 55 yards on 13 plays, eating up eight minutes off the clock before Branson Burnett punched it into the endzone from two yards out. The Bulldogs converted one third down and two fourth downs during the drive, keeping the chains moving and keeping Johnston City’s high-powered offense on the sideline. Carmi couldn’t convert the two-point attempt, but the Bulldogs had already made their statement.
Carmi led 6-0 with four minutes remaining in the opening quarter.
Of course, scoring on Johnston City’s defense is one thing. Stopping the Indians’ foot-to-foot offense is a completely different challenge.
Johnston City responded with a 13-play, 65-yard touchdown drive of its own. Hayden Burton finished it off with a one-yard touchdown run, and Marcus Leitzen added the two-point conversion to give the Indians an 8-6 lead with 8:56 left in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs didn’t panic.
Dakota Brown got things started on the ensuing possession with a kickoff return that set Carmi up at the Johnston City 43-yard line. Eight plays later, Brown finished the drive himself, this time through the air. Brown found Lex Day in front of the right pylon for a five-yard touchdown pass, putting the Bulldogs back in front. Burnett then ran in the two-point conversion, giving Carmi a 14-8 advantage with four minutes remaining in the half.
Johnston City had one more chance to score before halftime and moved the ball all the way inside the Carmi 40-yard line. Junior Cooper Hill then forced a fumble, and Caleb King recovered it to end the threat and send the Bulldogs into halftime with a 14-8 lead.
It was 24 minutes of nearly flawless football from the maroon and white.
A team that hadn’t won a football game in more than 665 days was leading the defending conference champions on their own field, but that lead wouldn’t last very long.
Just 17 seconds into the second half, Marcus Leitzen showed exactly why he’s considered one of the best players in the BDC.
On the first play from scrimmage, Leitzen took the handoff and raced 62 yards to the endzone. Bryson Long ran in the two-point conversion, and just like that, Johnston City had regained the lead, 16-14.
Still, there was plenty of football left to play.
Carmi looked to answer immediately, but the Bulldogs couldn’t finish the drive. Facing 4th & 6 at the Johnston City 46-yard line, Brown couldn’t find an open receiver downfield and was forced to throw the ball away, turning the ball over on downs.
The momentum had officially shifted to the Indians, and they went right back to Leitzen.
On the third play of the ensuing drive, the senior running back broke loose again, this time going 48 yards for another touchdown. Aiden Sims ran in the two-point conversion, and in a matter of just a few minutes, the Bulldogs had gone from leading 14-8 to trailing 24-14.
There were still 6:16 left in the third quarter, though, and Carmi wasn’t going away.
The Bulldogs put together another solid drive, picking up several first downs and moving the football all the way inside the Johnston City 20-yard line as the fourth quarter arrived.
But once again, the Indians came up with a big stop.
Facing 4th & 9 with 10:20 remaining, Brown’s pass intended for Justus Tauiliili in the endzone sailed over his head, giving Johnston City another turnover on downs.
It looked like the door might finally be closing on the Bulldogs, but then it cracked back open.
On the very next play, Keaton Grant stripped the Johnston City running back, and Matthew Kueber recovered the fumble to give Carmi the football right back.
With more than 10 minutes still remaining and the Bulldogs needing two scores, the game was very much within reach.
Carmi faced a 4th & 5 at the JC 19-yard line with just under nine minutes to play, and once again, it was Leitzen who made the play.
The Bulldogs tried to double-team the senior defensive end while running a quarterback option in his direction. Leitzen fought through both blockers and got to Brown just short of the line to gain, ending another promising Bulldog drive and giving the ball back to the Indians.
From there, Johnston City went into clock-killing mode.
The Indians burned more than five minutes off the clock before eventually turning the ball over on downs at the Carmi 29-yard line, giving the Bulldogs one last opportunity.
Despite having no timeouts and multiple players dealing with cramps on the sideline, Carmi managed to move the ball all the way inside the five-yard line, but the Bulldogs couldn’t find the endzone before the clock hit zero.
Johnston City escaped with a 24-14 victory, extending its conference winning streak to 19 games and its winning streak over Carmi to seven straight.
While the Bulldogs didn’t get the result they wanted, it was hard to walk away from Friday night without feeling encouraged about what this team could become.
Carmi went on the road against one of the most successful programs in the conference, in one of the toughest environments in the BDC, and had the defending conference champions on the ropes for much of the night. After an 0-9 season, not many people outside of White County probably expected that.
Head coach Clinton Wolff believes the team can use Friday’s performance as something to build on.
“The guys have to keep believing. That’s the bottom line. It’s Week 1, they’re going to keep battling. These guys are hungry, and they’re dialed in. They’re trusting one another, they’re loving on one another, and we’re excited for this season,” said Wolff.
The Bulldogs will now turn their attention toward their home opener, but the schedule isn’t getting any easier.
Carmi will welcome the Flora Wolves to Harrington-Jeffries Stadium on Friday night. Flora is coming off a 10-2 season in 2025 that saw the Wolves advance all the way to the IHSA quarterfinals.
The Wolves opened their 2026 season in impressive fashion as well with a dominating 49-8 win over Sesser-Valier.
Kickoff is set for 7:00 PM Friday night at Harrington-Jeffries Stadium.
Stats courtesy of Toby Brown & crew:
RUSHING:
Marcus Leitzen (JC) – 6 rush, 124 yards, 2 TD
Dakota Brown (CWC) – 12 rush, 66 yards
Trenten Basenberg (JC) – 9 rush, 66 yards
Branson Burnett (CWC) – 9 rush, 43 yards, TD
Kyzen Edwards (CWC) – 13 rush, 43 yards
Hayden Burton (JC) – 6 rush, 43 yards, TD
Jazz Duckworth (CWC) – 9 rush, 39 yards
Cooper Hill (CWC) – 6 rush, 21 yards
Aiden Sims (JC) – 4 rush, 19 yards
Caleb King (CWC) – 5 rush, 17 yards
Bryson Long (JC) – 3 rush, 14 yards
Caleb King (CWC) – 5 rush, 17 yards
Braden McGee (JC) – 1 rush, 1 yard
PASSING:
Dakota Brown (CWC) – 2 / 5, 14 yards, TD
RECEIVING:
Lex Day (CWC) – 2 rec, 14 yards, TD
TOTAL OFFENSE:
JC – 293
CWC – 243
TURNOVERS:
JC – 2
CWC – 0
FUMBLE RECOVERIES:
Caleb King (CWC) – 1
Matthew Kueber (CWC) – 1
FIRST DOWNS:
CWC – 16
JC – 13
TIME OF POSSESION:
CWC – 31:18
JC – 16:42
3RD DOWN:
CWC – 8 / 16
JC – 5 / 6
4TH DOWN:
CWC – 4 / 6
JC – 0 / 1
TACKLES:
Cole Evans – 5 solo, 6 asst, 1 TFL
Cooper Hill – 6 solo, 3 asst
Lex Day – 3 solo, 4 asst
Isaac Northcott – 2 solo, 3 asst
Caleb King – 1 solo, 4 asst
Branson Burnett – 3 solo
Kyzen Edwards – 2 solo
Matthew Kueber – 2 solo
Jazz Duckworth – 1 solo, 1 asst
Laeden Vargas – 2 asst
Dakota Brown – 1 solo
Trenton Chambers – 1 solo
Keaton Grant – 1 solo
Reece Jamison – 1 asst
SCORING PLAYS
3:51 1Q – Branson Burnett 2 run (run failed) | 6-0 CWC
8:56 2Q – Hayden Burton 1 run (Marcus Leitzen run) | 8-6 JC
4:02 2Q – Lex Day 5 catch from Dakota Brown (Burnett run) | 14-8 CWC
11:43 3Q – Leitzen 62 run (Bryson Long run) | 16-14 JC
6:16 3Q – Leitzen 48 run (Aiden Sims run) | 24-14 JC