By LYNETTE SOWELL-STEVENS
Cove Leader-Press
The results are in, and the Copperas Cove Bulldawgs have won the 11th annual Peanut Butter Bowl.
This marks Copperas Cove’s third win in five years, with wins in 2025 and 2023.
The Copperas Cove community came alongside the Bulldawgs and collected more than 16,305 pounds of peanut butter during the campaign that started Aug. 1 and ran through Aug. 30.
Coach Donald Buckram Jr. along with his son, Trenton, were in San Antonio on Tuesday when the final results were announced live by Steve Teel, with the Peanut Butter Bowl.
“It’s a very good feeling to be up here again and accept this trophy for the second year,” Buckram said. He said that Trenton was with him, so he could show him the impact he’s making as a young child right now, as 10-year-old. Trenton donates $150 to $200 each year from his lemonade stand.
Buckram also had many to thank, and he started with someone called the “Peanut Butter Falcon.”
“He knows who he is. He’s watching right now. He does a great job in Conference Cove of just pushing the peanut butter all throughout HEB, Walmart, every event that we do. The Peanut Butter Falcon does his job, so I appreciate him a whole lot,” Buckram said.
Among those Buckram also thanked were CCISD Superintendent Hawkins, Head Coach and Athletic Director Rodney Southern, the Copperas Cove Quarterback Club, H-E-B Plus! in Copperas Cove, Walmart, Sherry Hoffpauir, Stony Brook Assisted Living, Melody Squires, Bible Way Missionary Baptist Church, Grace United Methodist Church, CenTex Exchange Club, the CCISD board of trustees, Refit, Brian Hawkins, and more.
Buckram also named the elementary campuses in the district that collected the most peanut butter, to include Williams/Ledger Elementary, Fairview/Jewell, and House Creek Elementary Schools, with each campus donating multiple bins of peanut butter, adding up to as much as 500 pounds apiece.
He explained the game plan for launching the collection drive each year, starting with the first summer practice. He acknowledges that the student-athletes aim to be “five-star” athletes.
“But to be a five-star athlete, you’re gonna have to have some good DNA, some good genetics, and a little bit of luck on your side, too,” said Buckram. “What I tell them is, we all can be five-star community members. What I mean by that is we can volunteer, we can donate, we can help the man beside us, we can give a helping hand to somebody in need.”
Teel said that Copperas Cove has had increasing numbers each year.
“In 2022, they were number five, with 4,016 pounds. In 2023, they were number one, with 8207. In 2024, they were number two, with 10,1674. In 2025, they were number one with 12,240. And in 2026, number one with 16,305 pounds.”
Teel said that overall, 2026 had an increase in collections for the overall participation.
“Just for context, last year in 2025 together we collected 46 tons, which is awesome, which is amazing,” Teel said to those assembled. “This year, well, you all collected 70 tons, 24 more tons than last year.”
The live stream featured the top 25 teams and a representative from each school competing said a few words about the campaign and how it has impacted their community.
The peanut butter donations stay in the community and are distributed via local food banks, such as Baptist Benevolence and My Brother’s House food pantries in Copperas Cove.
In 2025, Copperas Cove collected a total of 12,240 jars of peanut butter, outpacing second place La Vega by more than 7,000 jars, who collected 4,836 jars of peanut butter.
In 2024, Copperas Cove placed second with a total of 10,674 jars.
Neighboring Chapparal High School in Killeen was also in the upper standings, taking 14th.
Altogether, more. than 120 schools participated.
The first Peanut Butter Bowl was held between two San Antonio high schools in 2016 and has spread throughout the years to include high schools in Central and South Texas.
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