When Miles Follis opened the 2025 season as Stamford’s junior varsity quarterback, it was the expectation that he’d finish the year in that same role. But fate had other plans.

As it would turn out, Follis — then a sophomore — was simply too good to keep off the varsity roster and out of the starting lineup.

After excelling against the SHS defense as the Bulldogs’ scout team quarterback, he was called up for Stamford’s final four games, drawing starts in the last three — a regular-season finale at Hawley and playoff games against Sonora and New Home. All he did was was follow a 142-yard, two-touchdown performance off the bench against Olney with three quality efforts as the starter, finishing the year with 990 passing yards and a 10-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

While the result of those efforts was a hard-luck 1-2 record featuring a pair of one-score losses around a bi-district blowout, he showed more than enough to establish himself as coach Wayne Hutchinson’s quarterback for the foreseeable future.

After spending the past couple of alignments on the lower end of the Class 2A Division I enrollment spectrum, the Stamford Bulldogs will enjoy a role reversal in 2026.

But a move to Division II won’t lighten the schedule any for coach Wayne Hutchinson’s squad, which was placed in District 7-2A DII with perennial power Albany and a historically strong Goldthwaite program that’s expecting one of its best teams in years.

The Bulldogs will tackle that challenge with a good group of returners after bringing 18 lettermen back from last year’s 7-5 outfit, including seven starters on both sides of the ball, But Hutchinson knows his team is, indeed, in for a challenge as it looks to build on a legacy of success that includes a state championship game appearance as recently as two years ago.