ARLINGTON, Texas — The town of Hamilton, Texas, waited 111 years for a state championship football team. They lavished a century’s worth of praise on their Bulldogs ahead of the Class 2A Division I State Championship Game. 

It was a bank holiday in Hamilton, and the grocery store and courthouse took an unofficial one, too. Instead, all 3,000 residents crowded Main Street to send off their Bulldogs to AT&T Stadium. The town’s pride and joy were packed on three charter buses, ready to make their community proud.

There were even fireworks. Don’t worry, the players insist, they called the fire department beforehand. 

“We were driving through a cloud of smoke, if that gives you a reference,” senior Colter Johnson said. 

The Hamilton faithful were treated to a different type of fireworks on the football field in Hamilton’s 21-7 win over Joaquin, the first state championship in school history. 

In the only state championship game this week between two schools making their first-ever appearances, Joaquin felt like the team of destiny. The group was dubbed “Playoff Joaquin” after making a run to the state semifinals as a four-seed in 2024, then going all the way to state as a three-seed this year. The previous week, they had scored 23 unanswered points to shock Refugio, the state’s No.1-ranked scoring defense. It seemed that no one could slow down their Slot-T offense. Until tonight. 

Hamilton was the underdog in a game of underdogs. Their star running back, Halston Haile, tore his kidney in two pieces last year in the Regional Final. Ahead of his first surgery, the doctors told him he’d never play football again. Tonight, he rushed for 93 yards and two touchdowns, earning the game’s Offensive MVP honors. 

“At this time last year, I was in a hospital bed,” Haile said. “To be sitting here getting interviewed after a state championship win, it doesn’t feel real.”

But Hamilton’s defense was the story of the night. Joaquin opened the game with a 14-play touchdown drive that zapped eight minutes off the clock. The Rams did not score again, turning the ball over on downs and fumbling three times each. 

And while senior linebacker Bret Bauman earned the game’s Defensive MVP honors with 16 tackles, it was a total team effort. Junior linebacker Kennon Lee forced a fumble and had a fumble recovery in the second half. Haile, who played three snaps on defense in the state semifinals, didn’t come off the field on Wednesday night. He had numerous touchdown-saving tackles. Colter Johnson was in on two sacks that destroyed a critical Joaquin drive deep in the fourth quarter, down by two scores. Freshman Easton Marwitz, the coach’s son, finished with 16 tackles himself, forcing the game-clinching fumble. 

“Our defense has done a great job all year,” Coach Marwitz said. “It’s somebody different every single week. Whether it’s defense, offense, or even special teams, we have different guys every single week (step up). That’s what it takes to win a state championship.”

Turns out, it takes an entire team, and an entire town behind them, to do something that hasn’t been done since 1914.

BOX SCORE

Hamilton Passing

Hamilton Rushing

Hamilton Receiving

Hamilton Defense

Hamilton Fumble Recoveries

Joaquin Passing

Joaquin Rushing

Joaquin Receiving

Joaquin Defense