2026 Prep Football Team Previews: Calexico Bulldogs

Calexico football looks to bounce back after difficult 2025 season

CALEXICO, Calif. (KYMA) - The Calexico Bulldogs are looking to put last season behind them and build momentum as they continue through the 2026 football season.

Calexico went 3-6 in 2025, its worst record in the last five years. After opening this season 1-1, the Bulldogs are focused on improving each week and putting themselves in a better position to make a playoff push.

For head coach Fernando Solano, the standard starts with competing every Friday night.

"Our expectation is to play hard every Friday and be in the game at the end of it, at the end of the fourth quarter," Solano said. "That's the standard that we have. Expectations are always to win, obviously. But the biggest thing is just seeing ourselves growing, making a projection that we're coming up every week."

Junior quarterback Ivan Hurtado is adjusting to varsity football and shares that same mindset.

"First of all, I just follow our coach's plan and just play as a team," Hurtado said. "Just be 1% better than you were the day before."

Hurtado believes that approach can help the Bulldogs reach the playoffs.

Before they can think about the postseason, however, Calexico will have to navigate a difficult Imperial Valley League schedule that includes matchups against Imperial, Brawley, Holtville and Central.

Senior defensive back Dominick Flores has one game in particular circled on the schedule, Calexico's rivalry against Vincent Memorial.

"The most important game to me is winning the Battle of the Border," Flores said. "Obviously, winning league would be fantastic, but we know it's going to be a tough battle every game going into league with some powerhouses in this league being Imperial, Brawley, Holtville and Central. They're really good schools, so being able to pull off an upset would be really great, but my main goal is winning that Battle of the Border again."

The Bulldogs also enter the season with a significantly different roster after losing much of their starting lineup to graduation.

Solano said the group has quickly developed a strong team-first mentality.

"It seems like there's no big egos on this team," Solano said. "Everybody's kind of on the same playing field, per se. And they've all kind of accepted the role of the team."

Flores said that chemistry has become one of the team's biggest strengths.

"We all are really close to each other, which is really good for a team," Flores said. "Chemistry is, for me, it's the most important thing on the team, and this team has really good chemistry all together."

With a new group coming together and an emphasis on steady improvement, the Bulldogs hope their progress will eventually translate to more wins on the scoreboard.