New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Bennett building toward championship run
Cromwell/Portland coach embraces variety of avenues to success
CROMWELL — Randell Bennett isn’t satisfied with scouting Pequot Sassacus or Uncas opponents. The Cromwell/Portland football coach wants to see what else is out there in Connecticut.
That’s why he’ll work out with and scrimmage against any size school in the preseason. That’s why he went over to Middletown to watch Class L powerhouse St. Joseph roll past Class LL Xavier, 42-7, on Saturday night.
“St. Joe’s is one of the top teams in the state,” Bennett said. “OK, I need to see how we measure up. What are we not doing?
What do we need to get better at? I truly believe those guys at the top, we’re not afraid of anybody, we’re not going to duck anybody.”
Bennett, whose unbeaten Panthers take on Valley Regional/ Old Lyme on Saturday in the
GameTimeCT Game of the Week, doesn’t miss much. He sees the Hogs’ tent and big screen to review plays during the game. He watches packages used and how much individuals play on each side of the football.
The 36-8 and 41-3 routs of Morgan and Haddam-Killingworth give Bennett some reason to sound confident. A 2-0 start — interrupted by a scheduled bye week and a postponed game against COVID-saddled North Branford — gives some indication the Panthers may run with
Ansonia and Bloomfield in the Class S world of 2021.
Yet his confidence is not nearly as striking as his passion to observe, learn, employ different avenues to succeed.
Bennett saw St. Joseph, which has gone on to win state titles in 2018 in Class M and 2019 in Class L, win a Class S title in 2017 employing a two-platoon system. A seed was planted. Granted, as a school of choice, St. Joe’s attracts talented kids to a topcaliber program.
Yet after his team full of freshmen and sophomore starters took their 2-8 lumps in 2019, Bennett returned from the COVID year unlike many teams. He has lots of veterans among 42 total players.
Bennett counts 14 juniors, six seniors and five sophomores who are playing: 25 guys filling 22 spots. He counts nine or 10 who play one way.
No, those are not Class LL Darien, Greenwich or Fairfield Prep numbers.
But they are also not Class S Oxford, Derby or Ansonia which play between eight to 11 players for most, if not, all of games.
Most of Bennett’s skill guys go both ways and are in terrific shape, but he has a second platoon that he can rotate. Running back Alex Hair, for instance, doubles as a defensive end.
“And everybody plays wide receiver, except our interior guys,” Bennett said. “We put so much speed on the field, other kids can’t really keep up with that.”
It also helps to having a linebacker corps of seniors Owen Brunk, Teddy Williams and junior Ryan Rozich, who Bennett in August, called “the best in the state. Hands down.” On Wednesday, he wasn’t backing off that statement.
The key to getting more quality players on the field, he said, is to have kids concentrate on learning a position and building depth by getting younger players involved sooner.
“It’s all about early development,” Bennett said. “Eventually we want to get to where we can platoon, but right now we’re trying to develop the second group. Where you lose kids, is when they’re standing around and watching a whole year. No, we need everybody and to attract more in the future.
“I saw a video on the Rams and how the older players wouldn’t respond to the grind of camp. You also don’t want to put too much wear and tear on your players early.”
Bennett took us back to the start of workouts. He saw his starting linebackers were too good for the offensive line to handle. He put young linebackers in with the first-team defensive line and backs, so they could get varsity looks. He put the No. 1 linebackers as wide receivers so they could run routes and a leader like Brunk could mentor freshman linebackers.
“Almost every kid is fighting for a starting spot,” Brunk said. “It makes practice really competitive and makes us better.”
Brunk, an All-State selection as a sophomore, would play the entire game on most other Class S teams. With Cromwell, his offense is limited.
“Of course, I love to play offense,” Brunk said, “but getting that break, trusting the offense, I can focus on making plays I might be too tired to make late in games.”
With so many players returning, the Panthers already have the basics of the offense down to the point where they can quickly put in a new formation.
“It’s a lot easier when we’re having success and they see what we’re doing is working,” Bennett said.
Much of their success can be traced to the offseason. Instead of backing off, many of the players pushed harder. Rising numbers filed into the Athlete Training Institute in Cromwell. When Jarvis Miller, now a NFL free agent, needed a place to work out, Bennett directed him to ATI. Miller, who played at Penn State and UMass, was Saquon Barkley’s roommate in college. He brought along Barkley’s workout regimen for the Cromwell players to use.
“We worked really hard during the offseason, if Saquon uses it you got to figure it’s a good workout,” Brunk said. “We’re looking for states this year. We’re returning almost everybody. We experienced that 2-8 and we don’t want that anymore.
“(Bennett) understands the game at a level I don’t think most coaches understand. He treats us like we’re Division I college players. He holds us to high expectations.”
Bennett, who played at Grambling, said Brunk has been good since he arrived as a freshman. He takes no credit for the talent. They have shared several conversations about leadership and developing a culture and Brunk has come to embody it.
“A 500-pound squat, 300-pound bench, he wrestles, too, and I think that helps him in the run game on defense,” Bennett said. “He’s a light’s out competitor. I’ve also been telling people Rozich is our hockey player. I mean, the guy leaves 7-on-7 games with a black eye. I’m telling his mom, ‘Listen, I’m not telling them to do any of this stuff. They’re just physical.’”
Defensive coordinator Jack Wilson, 22, played at Cromwell when the current defense was implemented. So it’s second nature to him.
“He doesn’t even write anything down,” Bennett said. “I’m over there with my little pad, but I’m not going to argue with the process. They put stuff in on the fly, blitzing. They’re understanding of it. Rozich (the middle linebacker) came off last game and said, ‘This game is boring.’ The d-line and linebackers off the edge were making all the tackles.”
You can’t argue with the process when HadamKillingworth ended with minus-43 yards rushing.
“After watching the film, we’re like, ‘Let’s not give up 100 yards (rushing) for the entire month,’” Bennett said. “If we continue to move the goal post for them, keep them hungry and invested, I think the sky is the limit. But more important than any one goal, every week we need to keep the pedal to the metal.”