Bennett reflects on historic career

MT. PLEASANT — It may be hard to believe, that a staple of the Mt. Pleasant athletic community has been out of the game for two years now.

Former Mt. Pleasant football and basketball coach Kent Bennett has been enjoying his free time, and reflecting on a career that spanned over 108 athletic seasons as a coach, as well as 40 years as a color commentator for KILJ radio.

Bennett started his coaching career way back in 1967. He then spent time helping the Panther youth grow, serving as a coach for the freshman team from 1968-1981, the eighth-grade team in 1982, and the seventh-grade squad from 1983-2017.

In that time period, Bennett coached his teams to 186 wins, compared to just 69 losses and 16 ties, and saw many of his former players hit the big stage of Division 1 college football.

Among players Bennett coached were former Iowa Hawkeyes Jordan Cotton, Steve English, Henry Krieger-Coble, Doug Miller, Ryan McCormick and Matt Melloy, Iowa State players Darian Cotton and Todd Miller, Nick Holgorsen of Northwestern, Leonard Wester of Missouri Western, and Henry Lutovsky of Nebraska.

Wester went on to play in the NFL for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, even scoring a touchdown as an offensive lineman. Lutovsky is currently in his senior year at Nebraska, and serves as one of the Cornhuskers’ captains.

Coaching alongside Bennett on the football field were Jeff Batey, Roger Brauman, Kurt Bjork, Phil Kenney, Mike Moffett, Brent Rich, Tim Taylor, Denny White and Jerry Wilson.

Bennett coached basketball as an assistant at Mt. Pleasant for 37 years, from 1967-2004. He says one of his favorite parts of the job was coaching alongside some of the best the area had to offer.

Those who coached side-by-side with Bennett include Jerry Bush, Dave Lansing, Jim Kelly and Brent Riessen, along with Paul Rundquist, who led Mt. Pleasant to the 2012 state title.

Bennett famously let the state champion Panther basketball players shave his head into a mohawk at the banquet following the state tourney.

Bennett also praised his assistant coaches from his time as the head coach of Mt. Pleasant baseball, which spanned from 1972-1994.

Assisting with baseball were Kurt Bjork, Jim Byer, Dave Lansing, Mike McBeth, Mike Moffett and Tim Taylor. Bennett’s baseball teams were 320-280 overall.

Bennett wanted to thank the Athletic Directors he worked under for those years, a pair of hall of fame football coaches in Bob Evans and Bob Jensen.

At the end of his career, most knew Coach Bennett from the radio. Along with being a coach at Mt. Pleasant, Bennett was on the call with KILJ for 40 years, which included 35 with longtime broadcaster John Kuhens, two each with Koehler Wendt and Nathan Bloechl and one with current play-by-play man Slaten Swords.

Bennett wanted to thank radio owners Paul and Joyce Dennison, along with his former broadcasting partners.

Although Bennett doesn’t coach or call games anymore, Panther fans still see him around the ball field, though he has more time to watch his grandchildren in the Little League ranks, along with continuing to follow Mt. Pleasant athletics.