Atlanta Bulldog Nation reaches a whole new level

By Tim Emmons
temmons@casscountynow.com

Four years ago Brandon Garner had a vision to form a football league here in Atlanta that didn’t cost the kids too much money and with that the Atlanta Bulldogs or Atlanta Bulldog Nation (ABN) was born. 
Some 40 or so children ranging from ages six to 12 signed up to play ball that first year, and that number has grown to more than 100 this year.
“I’m excited to see how much those who have been with us since the beginning have grown, and I’m happy to see the diversity of the players beginning to grow as well,” Garner said.
 Garner also mentioned that all four of the groups ranging from flag to junior team had outstanding years, but a couple of weekends ago the nine and ten-year old group finished the season undefeated and beat Whitehouse in the superbowl which was played in Bullard.
 “We switched leagues this year and joined the Tri-County League which was composed of 23 teams,” Garner said. “There was a north and south zone and the top teams in those zones got to play for the superbowl. Our nine to 10 group went 11-0 including the superbowl win”
All-in-all the undefeated team scored 383 points while only giving up 40.
The team was also featured in a state magazine as a team on the rise and one to look out for.
With all of the honors they’ve earned the team was invited to play in Deion Sanders’ tournament in Denton (Big Tex Nationals) where they won their first game but lost 6-0 in the Elite 8.
The games featured top teams from Texas, Oklahoma and other states.
“Being invited was an honor,” Garner remarked. “It was a lifetime opportunity for all of us and since then we’ve been invited to play in a big tournament in Orlando as well.”
The coaching staff included: Flag - Marcus Sasser, JR Riley, Jacoby Propps, Kevin Alexander and Decori Birmingham.
Freshman - Thurman Jones, Shun Mitchell, Ken Linwood, Atrell Price and Richard Wellington.
Sophomores - Willie Grundy, Rick Riley, Royal Huckabee, Johnny Dowden, Joey Durr, Ronald Thomas and Dike Coleman. 
Juniors - Josh Walker, Chris Propps, Choc Garner and Jevon Jackson. Four years ago kids signed up who have never played and four years later the coaching is starting to pay off.