Panhandle Post By Jake Schrantz
ALLIANCE, NE - With August right around the corner, high school football season is creeping into the minds of Alliance Bulldogs fans already. With the season opener scheduled for just over a month from today, here's what you need to know going into the 2025 football season.
Alliance High School finished the 2024 campaign with a frustrating 1-8 record. However, there were some bright spots to remember that should provide some encouragement for the team and fanbase coming into 2025. One of those bright spots was Espen Lanik. The Bulldogs' leading receiver last year comes back for his senior season in 2025. After completing his second-straight 40+ reception season, fans are excited to see what he can do next.
Another key piece for the Bulldogs' future is Trini Trejo. The junior running back ripped defenses apart as a sophomore in 2024, which included being the only sophomore in Class C1 with 1,000+ rushing yards on the season. Trejo developed well in year two with the Bulldogs, nearly tripling his rushing production from his freshman season. Bulldogs fans are likely hoping for more of the same from the top running back for Alliance High School in 2025.
Someone else who contributed very well in an otherwise forgettable season for the Bulldogs football program was Caysen Robertson. As a freshman, Robertson was the only Bulldog to eclipse 100 tackles on the season, which was astounding. Only four other players in Class C1 finished ahead of Robertson in tackles last season. He was also the only freshman in all of C1 football in Nebraska with over 100 total tackles in 2024.
What may be even more encouraging for the Bulldogs defense looking ahead to the 2025 season is that senior inside linebacker Cole Stoike finished with the third-most tackles in C1 District 7 last year. With both top tacklers back for this upcoming fall, the Alliance defense has some solid foundation to rely on moving forward.
Looking at this year's schedule, the Bulldogs will begin the 2025 season on the road at Gordon-Rushville. If that sounds familiar, it's because these two schools started the season against each other last year too. In that matchup, Alliance was able to find its lone win of the season, with a 28-15 win at home.
After falling behind 7-0 in the first quarter, the Bulldogs saw the offense explode with Lanik and Trejo lighting the fuse. 225 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns marked a fantastic season opener from Trejo, and Lanik brought in six passes for 77 yards and a receiving touchdown. This performance from Alliance ended up being its best of the year in 2024. However, with most of the top contributors from a season ago back for 2025, the outlook is a bit different.
After the week one road matchup with the Mustangs, Alliance returns to Bulldog Stadium for a pair of games with Holdrege and Gering on Sept. 5th and Sept. 12th respectively. Holdrege finished the 2024 season with two wins, including a 43-15 victory over the Alliance Bulldogs. Gering wrapped up their 2024 campaign with a winning record, but finished the season 2-4 in their last six games.
After a couple home games, the Bulldogs head back on the road for a matchup at Hershey. The Panthers also only had two wins a season ago and finished fifth out of six teams in C2 District 6. Alliance returns home on Sept. 26 to face off with Chase County. The Bulldogs go to Lexington and Chadron to begin the month of October, before wrapping up the regular season with Sidney at home on Oct. 17 and Ogallala on the road on Oct. 24.
The 2025 season is a chance for Alliance to right some wrongs of the past few seasons. The Bulldogs haven't had a winning season since 2016. However, the combination of veteran leadership (like Lanik and Stoike), and young production (like Trejo and Robertson), may be the formula to start turning this program in the right direction.
Coverage of the 2025 Alliance Bulldogs will be found here on Panhandle Post, and games will be heard on the home of Bulldogs football, 92.5 FM & 1400 AM KCOW.