(This is the third in in a series previewing the 2026 high school football season.)
Despite finishing 2-9 last season, the Butler Bulldogs made their second consecutive 2A playoff appearance, finishing as a top four team with a 2-3 region record but now have a tougher path with the jump up to 3A and the playoff changes this season.
“We are excited because we have a group of guys coming back that work extremely hard,” said Butler Coach Myron Newton at the Richmond County football coach media day Aug. 3 at Westside High School. “The last two years we have had the opportunity to make the playoff, and our goal is to make it for a third consecutive year.”
Previously the top four teams in each region would qualify for the state playoffs, but that has changed starting this year. The Georgia High School Association committee approved to use a points-based formula called the post season rankings that will determine playoff berths.
Now only the region champions will be guaranteed a playoff spot, and the remaining playoff field and bracket seeding are determined by the rankings.
“You got to win and play hard to get in,” Newton said. “My students are up for the challenge, and I am excited for them.”
Butler has around eight starters returning on team according to Newton. He said he is looking forward to seeing the next guys step and take over their new roles.
“To see the next guy step up and for them guys not to flinch, that’s what makes the game super exciting,” Newton said.
One of the players taking over a new role is Sakai Bennett, who will be the starting quarterback for the Bulldogs this season. Bennett previously played linebacker but now will lead the offense at the quarterback position.
“If you are a linebacker, I feel like you control the defense,” Bennett said. “The quarterback, you have to control the offense. “The hardest adjustment I feel was to have to jam all the plays in my head and actually study what everyone is supposed to do.”
Newton praised Bennett and is proud of the leader he has grown into after this past offseason.
“Sakai was one of the only players in Augusta to go to the leadership camp and for him to bring it back to our team was amazing,” Newton said.
Newton is recognized as one of longest tenure coaches in the Augusta area, coaching at Butler since 2012. While Newton says winning is a big goal for the team, the longer he coaches he focuses on making an impact on the students’ lives and the community.
“You start to measure yourself as you are young but as you get older, you start to define that by how many lives you change,” Newton said. “These kids, the kids before that and hopefully the kids after them keep my drive alive. That is what keeps me here at Butler High School… to make sure I’m given back the right way.”
Butler will kick off the season at Glenn Hills on Friday, Aug.21.
Sportswriter Christopher Rickerson is an Augusta University graduate who has covered area sports for publications including Augusta University‘s Bell Ringer, The Augusta Press and Augusta Good News. He won three Georgia Press Association sports awards in 2026. Subscribe to the Augusta Good News’ free weekly newsletter here.
