By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
In 2024, Bennington High School found itself a handful of students over the enrollment cap and was forced to make the leap from 8-man football back to 11-man.
Sparse rosters and injury-plagued seasons led to a brutal 1-17 run over the last two campaigns, but there’s real reason for optimism in 2026 as the Bulldogs return to the 8-man world after two years away.
“It’s been nice to be back,” Bennington head coach Bryan Shamburg said. “We’ve finally been able to practice against a full offense and a full defense again. That was one of the biggest struggles we had last year with only 17 guys available; we had to get really creative at practice.”
As a program, Bennington hasn’t been as impacted as many in their position might have been, and has a strong group of veteran leaders returning for the 2026 campaign.
“We’ve put it all behind us,” Shamburg said. “It was a bummer for our seniors, but the kids who love football still had fun. The kids we have are committed, and when you look through our hallways, the kids who we think need to be out for football are.”
The Bulldog backfield will look very familiar with quarterback Cole Casper and tailback Aiden Levendofsky each returning for their senior seasons, alongside freshman running back Jordan Tramble.
Behind an O-Line featuring a pair of returners in Jaxson Kidd and Brandon Johnson, Bennington is optimistic about their ability to run the football and compete physically in 2026.
“I feel confident about our O-Line and our ability to run the ball,” Shamburg said. “Aiden has battled injuries throughout his career but we’re hopeful that he can stay healthy and we’ll get a chance to really see what he can do.”
On the defensive end, Casper and Tramble will patrol the secondary behind a linebacker corps of Aiden Levendofsky, Brayden Goble and Brandon Johnson, with Jaxson Kidd, Nyle Silva and Ryan Bieker battling in the trenches.
While the 8-man schedule does feature a few friendlier matchups, and revitalizes rivalries with teams like Solomon, the Bulldogs will have their work cut out for them in a cutthroat district that features a who’s who of elite 8-man talent.
“We’re excited with our schedule,” he said. “We have a tough district, but we love playing Solomon and getting some of these teams back on the schedule is exciting. We’ve got some big tests with Lincoln, Ell-Saline and Trego, but the guys are excited for the challenge.”
While the road ahead won’t be an easy one, it’s hard not to project brighter days ahead for this Bulldog program, especially if Bennington can stay healthy and quickly re-adjust to the 8-man game.
“We just want to continue to get better every day, and pushing physicality has been a big point of emphasis for us,” Shamburg said. “We also talk about winning the turnover battle and limiting mistakes. With this group, the ceiling feels very high, but we have to continue to get better from week to week.”
The Bulldogs open the new campaign on September 4th when they travel to Osborne for a battle of the Bulldogs.
Bennington 2026 Football Schedule
- 9/4 - at Osborne
- 9/11 - vs. Solomon
- 9/18 - at Herington
- 9/25 - at Lincoln
- 10/2 - vs. Wakeeney-Trego
- 10/9 - at Ell-Saline
- 10/16 - vs. Canton-Galva
- 10/23 - vs. Mankato-Rock Hills