2026 Football Frenzy Preview: Bowling Green Purples
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Bowling Green Purples are the latest Football Frenzy 2026 preview, presented by Bowling Green Fireplace and Grill.
After back-to-back state championships in 2023 and 2024, BG finished 2025 with a 6-7 record.
Its not what the Purples wanted, but they are wanting to use it as motivation this fall.
“It humbled us,” head coach Mark Spader said. “I think a lot of people took winning for granted, but we’re trying not to dwell on it. I think this group would like to put up more wins and go deeper in the playoffs, and there’s always those expectations of winning the championship.”
Come December, this program wants to be back at Kroger Field, but the players acknowledge last year was a season that helped them build a tougher mentality.
“I think it helped us a bunch,” senior safety Embree Dotson said. “We had a bunch of young people step up last year, and they’re gonna have to do the same this year. We have a bunch of sophomores on the team, so mentally I think that helped them, and I think it helped everybody really.”
One of those young players who stepped up on the team last year was Anthony Davis. Early in the season, Davis took over as the starter under center as just a freshman, but he feels he’s improved in multiple areas on the field this offseason.
“Just the reads and just improving my game,” Davis said. “My game got a lot better and my mechanics have got a lot better as a quarterback. So this year, it’s gonna be a totally different Anthony Davis.”
“He’s really confident right now and he’s a very mature individual that works hard on his game,” Spader said. “He’s very critical of himself, but I can tell now he’s got a little grasp on what we’re doing offensively. He’s able to coach the guys a little more and sometimes get in their rear to motivate them, and that’s the job of a quarterback.”
With a young team, the Purples still have some key pieces to figure out, but have confidence that facing tough opponents in Bullitt East and St. Xavier in the first two weeks of the season will help BG reach its ceiling.
“We’ve got a lot of new faces. It’s high school football once again, so we’re trying to get some guys settled into some spots, and it may take a while,” Spader said. “But fortunately, we have that schedule that will test us throughout the early part of our schedule, and hopefully we can get settled in there and get rolling when it’s important.”
Bowling Green will face off with the Chargers in the Rafferty’s Bowl this Saturday, August 22, hosted on the campus of Western Kentucky University at Houchens-Smith Stadium.
