2022 Team Previews: Bennington
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Team Overview: Bennington celebrated a season for the ages in 2021 with a dominant season from wire-to-wire, capping it off with the Class B state championship. Now that the confetti has settled it is time to look at the incoming…
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Continue ReadingTeam Overview: Bennington celebrated a season for the ages in 2021 with a dominant season from wire-to-wire, capping it off with the Class B state championship. Now that the confetti has settled it is time to look at the incoming season which will require a lot of new faces at several positions. Replacing a 3,000-yard, 40+ touchdown runningback, a 1,000-yard receiver, and all five starters at offensive line will be a tough task, but the Bennington machine slooks to continue churning. They will return starting QB, Trey Bird Trey Bird 6'1" | 175 lbs | QB Bennington | 2023 State NE who will have some impressive weapons at his disposal. Isaac Conner Isaac Conner 6'2" | 200 lbs | WR Bennington | 2023 State NE and Owen Douglas Owen Douglas 5'11" | 150 lbs | DB Bennington | 2023 State NE are two very good two-way players that will likely step up at receiver. RB Nick Colvert Nick Colvert 5'8" | 150 lbs | RB Bennington | 2023 State NE will be a terror as an all-purpose back. Defensively, the Badgers return some good pieces at all levels. Ethan Nguyen Ethan Nguyen 6'4" | 230 lbs | DL Bennington | 2023 State NE and Weston Heinemann Weston Heinemann 6'4" | 200 lbs | DL Bennington | 2023 State NE should step up in the trenches after promising junior campaigns. Alex Foltz Alex Foltz 5'10" | 210 lbs | LB Bennington | 2023 State NE and Jaxson Andrews Jaxson Andrews 5'11" | 170 lbs | LB Bennington | 2023 State NE are returning linebackers with experience from last year’s squad, along with junior DB Gunnar Lym Gunnar Lym 6'0" | 180 lbs | DB Bennington | 2024 State NE who had a standout season. Lennox Hughes Lennox Hughes 6'1" | 175 lbs | P Bennington | 2023 State NE and Vaughn Anderson Vaughn Anderson 5'9" | 135 lbs | K Bennington | 2023 State NE will provide the Badger’s two great specialists. The Badgers will have some growing pains, but expecting them to not be in the thick of the action in November would be foolish. This is a team with a high ceiling if the pieces come together.
Head Coach: Kam Lenhart
2021 Record: 13-0 (Class B State Champions)
2022 Team Schedule:
Week 1 – Skutt Catholic
Week 2 – @ Plattsmouth
Week 3 – York
Week 4 – @ Pius X
Week 5 – Elkhorn
Week 6 – @ Blair
Week 7 – Omaha Westview
Week 8 – @ Elkhorn North
Week 9 – @ Mount Michael Benedictine
Players to Watch:
Trey Bird Trey Bird 6'1" | 175 lbs | QB Bennington | 2023 State NE (2023) | QB | 6’1″ 175 lbs
It’s not very often that a QB that has a season like Trey did last year, ends up as one of the “unheralded” players of the team. Yet, with all the talent around him, Trey’s specatular season went somewhat under the radar despite having 2,181 passing yards (63% completion), 24 touchdowns to 3 ints, 331 rushing yards, and 5 rushing touchdowns. This year, Trey and the passing attack could be the bread and butter of a revamped offense. Even with all the new pieces, expect Trey to remain calm and unfazed as he showed time and time again last year.
Nick Colvert Nick Colvert 5'8" | 150 lbs | RB Bennington | 2023 State NE (2023) | RB | 5’8″ 150 lb
Colvert was another unheralded player from last year’s championship squad. RB Nick Colvert Nick Colvert 5'8" | 150 lbs | RB Bennington | 2023 State NE is a versatile player who is the returning leader in both rushing and receiving yards. Nick rushed for 404 yards on a 7.7 average per carry to go with 6 rushing touchdowns, he also had 20 receptions for 364 receiving yards and a touchdown. This could be Nick’s breakout season as he will now be toting the majority of the carries while also being a threat in the passing game.
Gunnar Lym Gunnar Lym 6'0" | 180 lbs | DB Bennington | 2024 State NE (2024) | DB | 6’0″ 160 lbs
Junior safety Gunnar Lym Gunnar Lym 6'0" | 180 lbs | DB Bennington | 2024 State NE had himself a sneaky good season last year. Lym was able to carve out 60 tackles and 3 interceptions and really helped round out a very talented secondary. Gunnar will now be a veteran in the secondary with great varsity experience. He brings with him a mean, physical streak that loves to lay the wood when he gets the chance to. Gunnar is already looking like one of the top DBs in his class, but a strong junior year could solidify that status and even bring in some offers.
Ethan Nguyen Ethan Nguyen 6'4" | 230 lbs | DL Bennington | 2023 State NE (2023) | DL | 6’4″ 230 lbs
Watch out for DE Ethan Nguyen Ethan Nguyen 6'4" | 230 lbs | DL Bennington | 2023 State NE this season! He was a player that really started to breakout last year and should continue that momentum into his senior year. Nguyen finished the year with 32 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, a sack, an interception, and 2 fumble recoveries. He was a monster at sniffing out the run and can drop his anchor to set the edge and close of the run game. What should leave offensive linemen so unsettled about battling Ethan, is his speed and quickness for someone his size. At 6’4″ 230 lbs, Nguyen is still very athletic and can blow past blockers. Stock-riser candidate!
Isaac Conner Isaac Conner 6'2" | 200 lbs | WR Bennington | 2023 State NE (2023) | WR | 6’2″ 205 lbs
Isaac is a player that we are really excited for this upcoming season after the flashes he showed last year. Conner is a big-bodied receiver with great range and body control when coming down with the catch. Conner didn’t see a ton of targets come his way, but he still managed to rack up 325 receiving yards on 18 receptions and scored 4 times through the air. Those are numbers I’m expecting to see a huge spike in now that he will be stepping into the WR1 spot.
Jaxson Andrews Jaxson Andrews 5'11" | 170 lbs | LB Bennington | 2023 State NE (2023) | LB | 5’11” 170 lbs
Jaxson will be back wreaking havoc on offenses and terrorizing quarterbacks. Jaxson had a very productive season as a junior with 83 tackles, which was good for third on the team, and he added 3 tackles for loss, a sack, an interception, and forced fumble. Andrews plays the inside linebacker position very well, and does everything that is needed from him. He can step up and stuff the run or help out in pass coverage, Andrews was even a heavy hitter on special teams. The LB group should be solid with Jaxson back in the fold.
Alex Foltz Alex Foltz 5'10" | 210 lbs | LB Bennington | 2023 State NE (2023) | LB | 5’10” 210 lbs
Coming back with Jaxson in the linebacker core, is Alex Foltz Alex Foltz 5'10" | 210 lbs | LB Bennington | 2023 State NE who also started to raise some eyebrows last year. Foltz finished his junior season with 53 tackles and 2 tackles for loss as a part of a tough LB rotation. Alex is a bulkier LB, but still does a great job flying around the field. He has nice range and can cover sideline-to-sideline very well. Foltz is a bruiser when he makes tackles and even had a few plays where he flat-out stonewalled runningbacks in their tracks. This is going to be a punshing duo at the second level of the defense.
More Players to Watch:
Owen Douglas Owen Douglas 5'11" | 150 lbs | DB Bennington | 2023 State NE (2023) | WR/DB | 5’11” 150 lbs
Weston Heinemann Weston Heinemann 6'4" | 200 lbs | DL Bennington | 2023 State NE (2023) | OL/DL | 6’4″ 200 lbs
Vaughn Anderson Vaughn Anderson 5'9" | 135 lbs | K Bennington | 2023 State NE (2032) | K | 5’9″ 145 lbs
Lennox Hughes Lennox Hughes 6'1" | 175 lbs | P Bennington | 2023 State NE (2023) | P/K | 6’3″ 185 lbs
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