MILLSAP BULLDOGS
Ministry of Millsap
Some stories go beyond football. For a prime example, look no further than the Millsap Bulldogs. In 2025, the team started 13 sophomores in one of the toughest 3A districts in Texas.
Among the 13 new starters was quarterback Madden Gilbert, who considered the challenge an“ eye-opener for our group.”
When asked what moment stood out to him during the season, Gilbert said it was in week one against Hamilton, the eventual 2A Div. I state champions.
However, after the early test, Gilbert stated the game started to slow down for him and the Bulldogs. Center Levi Tippie recalled the week three matchup with Tolar as a night when his team was unstoppable and could move the ball freely.
Running back Braun Johnson reminisced about the week five contest against Santo, where they handed the Wildcats their first loss of the season.
12 FIRST DOWN 2026
The Bulldogs were coming together as one.
“ Being able to compete in one of the best districts in 3A Div. II football, it felt good to see my boys compete,” said Tippie.
But with a fifth-place finish in District 6-3A, the Bulldogs failed to reach the postseason for the first time since 2019; however, as the final weeks of the football season approached, the real story began for Millsap.
“ On Dec. 15, our world got turned upside down,” said head coach Jacob Johnson.“ The prognosis of life was not good.”
Following a doctor’ s visit, Johnson received word that a rare mutation had transformed his chronic myeloid leukemia into an acute form and the disease had reached a crisis level.
Johnson returned to Millsap’ s fieldhouse to break the news to his son, Braun, and visited his office one last time without knowing for sure he would return.
Chemotherapy included a complete wipe of Johnson’ s immune system and bone marrow in a vicious cycle of treatment sessions. In May, he received a stem cell transplant and stayed in Hope Lodge for two months near the hospital for doctors to monitor his health.
Calling it a“ full body reset,” Johnson lost 100 lbs in eight months and is an infant when it comes to certain tasks like walking up stairs and eating habits.
Jonhson is proud to announce that he’ s in remission and has a strong chance to stay in remission for the rest of his life, according to his doctors.
After eight months, the coach returned to his office at the fieldhouse and saw his desk calendar still on December.
Realizing it’ s a marathon, not a sprint, Johnson’ s eagerness to slowly transition back into his coaching duties was set in place for him after the immense amount of help he received from the staff during his battle.
Once he returned, he told his fellow coaches they would never understand