As August is in full effect, so is football season, and this year the Bennington Bulldogs are poised for a bounce back campaign. 

In 2022, the Bulldogs went winless on the gridiron, but Head Coach Bryan Shamburg says there’s plenty of reason for optimism in 2023.

“We have an experienced team this year with tons of talent,” remarked the coach in his season prospectus. “We have lots of speed on this team and look forward to getting them in space and watching them thrive! We will also look forward to having some size up front to run behind.”

The Bulldogs return a grand total of nine starters entering the fall, including Quarterback Kian Wilson, who threw for over 1000 yards last year. Bennington will also have two-way starter Payge Rodenbeek back, who contributed 65 tackles to lead the defense a year ago, who will also see a likely expanded role at running back. 

The size up front that Coach Shamburg spoke of is no joke either. Front line starters Logan Rook and Jonathan Golbeck return on both the offensive and defensive line, while underclassmen Garrett Campbell and Ayden Levendofsky will add depth to that hefty group in the trenches. 

The returning experience for Bennington should also play into their hands entering 2023, having all nine of those starters back, from a group which despite losing all their games last year, lost five of those contests by two possessions or less. That statistic is nothing but an indicator of how that returning experience can play into the Bulldogs’ hand. If they were two steps away from success a season ago, they might just be right where they want to be when kickoff arrives. 

Bennington will open the 2023 campaign on Friday, September 1st at home against Goessel. Fans can tune in to 1150 KSAL and 106.7 FM all fall long, as Head Coach Bryan Shamburg makes a weekly appearance each Tuesday on In The Zone from 5-6 PM to discuss the progress of his team.