Arlington Bowie Volunteers
Head Coach: Joseph Sam (6th season; 30-25 record)
Last Season: 8-3; 7-0 in district (Lost to Berkner in bi-district)
Returning Lettermen: 20 (7 returning starters on offense; 5 on defense)
Arlington Bowie Key Players and Storylines
Joseph Sam has Arlington Bowie trending in the right direction. For the first time in program history, the Volunteers have won back-to-back outright district titles.
The next goal for the Volunteers is finding more playoff success. Last year, they fell to Berkner 30-28 in the first round.
Bowie returns 12 starters back from that team, including a dynamic receiving corps led by big-play threat Maxwell Nichols (1,086 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns) and “alpha dog” Antonio Birdow, who missed half of last season due to injury (326 receiving yards in five games). Up front, versatile lineman Jhonny Campos is a returning first team all-district honoree.
#K104FridayNightLights@JaydenBibbs26 to @Max_Nichols14 Nichols to start the scoring for Bowie.
SGP 0️⃣
BOW 7️⃣
1stQ – 6:56 #TXHSFB #DFW pic.twitter.com/qM8wl8bw2W
— 𝓡𝓸𝓷 𝓜𝓾𝓻𝓻𝓪𝔂 𝓙𝓻 (@RonMurrayJr) November 7, 2025
Defensively, Bowie’s leading returning tackler is safety Kaleb Phifer (70 tackles), who has shined on the gridiron despite being legally deaf. He’ll need to take charge of an inexperienced secondary. In front of him, the Volunteers will lean on the physical duo of linebacker Don Rivas (33 tackles) and edge rusher AJ Adeyanju (31 tackles, three TFLs).
Bowie’s last four playoff trips have resulted in just one win. This program has made clear that it has what it takes to be a postseason contender year in and year out. Now, Sam wants his guys to “embrace the process of getting to December” as they look to string together a playoff run this fall.
Bowie 2026 Schedule
*- Denotes District 3-6A contest
Thursday Aug. 27 @ Prosper Rock Hill 7:00
Friday Sept. 4 vs. South Grand Prairie at Choctaw 7:00
Friday Sept. 11 vs. Haltom at Choctaw 7:00
Friday Sept. 18 @ *Lamar at UTA 7:00
Friday Sept. 25 vs. *Granbury at Choctaw 7:00
Friday Oct. 9 @ *Aledo 7:00
Friday Oct. 16 @ *Martin at Glaspie 7:00
Friday Oct. 23 vs. *Arlington at Choctaw 7:00
Friday Oct. 30 @ *Weatherford 7:00
Thursday Nov. 5 vs. *Sam Houston at Choctaw 7:00
