Bennett selected to head Calvert football

The Calvert Trojans were put into a tough spot when head football coach and athletic director John Cherry left his post in May for Richland Springs after just one year with the program.

Fast forward a little over a month later and the search for the new man to lead the tradition rich program had come to an end. The selection was Cameron Yoe wide receivers and track coach Chris Bennett.

“I had coached against Calvert, and year in and and year out they had good athletes and were well-coached,” said the new Trojans coach. “The community support was there and they had good kids. For some reason, I had always heard bad stories about Calvert, but every time I had played against them they would knock the crap out of you and then reach their hand out and pick you up. I see Cameron-esk type kids in a 6-man program.”

Bennett, which had been with the Yoe football program the past three seasons, is now taking his third head coaching job. He was the head coach at Buckholts in 2005 and spent four years in charge of the Coolidge program. The next stop was at Rosebud-Lott for three seasons. In addition to being the offensive coordinator, he led the Cougars track team to a 2014 state team championship.

This past season, Calvert finished 12-1 overall with a third round loss to eventual champion Richland Springs, 86-36. The Trojans had defeated eventual division II champion Borden County in non-district play, 62-60. Calvert’s last state championship came in 2002.

When asked about his coaching style Bennett mentioned that he wanted to be aggressive, referencing back to his days on the gridiron.

“I played under Howe Mumming at Copperas Cove and we are going to spread the ball out and sling it around,” said Bennett. “With the athletes that they have in Calvert, that is exactly what we’re going to do. We are going to take a fast game and speed it up where competitors can’t keep up with us. That is going to give us the edge.”

Bennett joins the likes of Jarrod Smith (Trinity) and Lupe Florez (Bay City) to take the next step up from assistants in Cameron to head coaches. The experience and knowledge gained is something he plans on putting to good use in his next venture.

“I will always have a dear spot for the kids, teachers and coaches of Cameron in my heart,” said Bennett. “It was just time for me to move on in a different direction. I didn’t want to live four or six hours away from my own kids and Calvert presented not only the opportunity to stay close to home, but it’s almost like a smaller version of Cameron Yoe. Rick Rhoades and Tommy Brashear are just such great men, bosses and football coaches. I am going to take everything I learned from those two and try to create a little Cameron over in Calvert.”

Bennett has five kids and is a graduate of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.