The first official practice of the 2023 football season for the Midland Bulldogs was Aug. 7, Wes Torres, Athletic Director for Midland ISD, announced on X (formerly Twitter). He tagged Thad Fortune, who will once again lead the Bulldogs as head coach this season.
The Midland Bulldogs will kick off the 2023 season against the Montwood High School Rams, a team they beat last season 56-28. Then, the Bulldogs are scheduled to take on four straight non-district opponents in Coronado, Amarillo, Monterey, and Andress. Midland ends the season in district games against San Angelo Central, Frenship, Odessa, Midland Legacy and Permian. The Bulldogs won only one district game last year, defeating Odessa 41-31, and finished the season 5-5, missing the playoffs after going 1-4 in district games, MaxPreps says.
The team will be led this season by senior linebacker Turner Squire, senior safeties Athen Dominguez and Noah Crumpler, and junior quarterback Stroman Bridges, the team's website says.
The Bulldogs will be coached again by Thad Fortune in his sixteenth season as a coach and his third year at Midland, the coaching information section of the team website says. Fortune graduated from Anson High School and East Texas Baptist University. He has a master’s degree in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University-Irvine and has coached at Stephenville High School, East Texas Baptist University, and Permian High School. He served as the offensive coordinator at Permian High School for seven seasons before becoming the head coach at Midland High. Coach Fortune and his wife, Kristy, have two sons, Jack and Judson.