Bonanza Capsule Preview
Coach: Shawn Dupris, second year (2-8).
2007 record: 2-8 (0-6 Southwest).
Returning starters: Six offense, six defense.
Top players: WR/DB Aaron Simon (Sr.); C/LB Stuart Montenegro (Sr.); RB Antonio Beals (Sr.); OL Jose Babin (Sr.); LB Franz Ferguson (Jr.); OL/DL Diante Perez (Jr.); LB Matt Sathrum (Sr.); RB/CB Ryan Martin (Sr.); CB/WR DeSean Martin (So.).
Outlook: The Bengals return with experience and enthusiasm as they’ll attempt to move up the Southwest League ladder.
“We’ve really been stressing coming to play and play hard during the preseason,” Dupris said. “The kids are more mature, more experienced.”
In Beals and Ryan Martin, the Bengals have the makings of a good running game, but that’s not all they’ll do. Two sophomores are battling for the quarterback position in Bonanza’s spread offense.
“We’ve got some size at quarterback, which we didn’t have last year, so we couldn’t throw much,” Dupris said. “They’re smart kids, and we like to spread it out.”