High School

Inside the Front-Heavy 2026 Opelika (Ala.) Football Schedule as the Bulldogs Load Up Early on Home Games

After opening on the road, Opelika will play four straight games on its home turf, before closing with four out of five on the road.

Gary Adornato

Opelika has announced its 2026 schedule and the Bulldogs will enjoy some home cooking early as they play four of their first five games at home.
Opelika has announced its 2026 schedule and the Bulldogs will enjoy some home cooking early as they play four of their first five games at home. / Mickey Welsh / Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Opelika Bulldogs have announced their 2026 football schedule and its geared to having them get off to a strong start, with four of the first five games at home.

The Bulldogs, who went 10-4 last season and appeared in the Alabama Class 7A state championship game, will open on the road at Benjamin Russell on Aug. 21. It will be the first game for new head coach Jonathan Chandler, after making the move to Opelika from Montgomery Catholic.

Following the opener, the Bulldogs come home for a huge showdown with perennial state power Hoover. Over the next three games Opelika will meet Enterprise, Phenix Central and Johnson Abernathy Graetz in what will be the school's Homecoming game.

After that stretch, Opelika plays at Auburn and Dothan, before playing its final home regular season game on Oct. 16 against Smiths Station. The final two games are once again on the road, at Carter-Montgomery and at Prattville.

Opelika High School 2026 Football Schedule 

Aug. 21 – at Benjamin Russell

Aug. 28 – Hoover 

Sep. 4 – Enterprise

Sep. 11 – Phenix City Central

Sep. 18 – Johnson Abernathy Graetz

Oct. 2 – at Auburn

Oct. 9 – at Dothan

Oct. 16 – Smiths Station

Oct. 23 – at Carver

Oct. 29 – Prattville

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Gary Adornato
GARY ADORNATO

Gary Adornato is the Senior VP of Content for High School On SI and SBLive Sports. He began covering high school sports with the Baltimore Sun in 1982, while still a mass communications major at Towson University. In 2003 became one of the first journalists to cover high school sports online while operating MIAASports.com, the official website of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association. Later, Adornato pioneered market-wide coverage of high school sports with DigitalSports.com, introducing video highlights and player interviews while assembling an award-winning editorial staff. In 2010, he launched VarsitySportsNetwork.com which became the premier source of high school media coverage in the state of Maryland. In 2022, he sold VSN to The Baltimore Banner and joined SBLive Sports as the company's East Coast Managing Editor.

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