James M. Bennett 2026 Football Preview
SALISBURY, Md. – It’s one brick at a time for the Clippers: “In order to win a game, you gotta win a practice. In order to win practice, you’ve got to win a rep. In order to win a rep, you got to win a drill.”
James M. Bennett football comes into their 2026 season trying to build on the foundation of a senior class that’s hungry. Senior tight end Sawyer Proscia said they’ve been working toward this for years, “I feel like we got a lot more chemistry, a lot of older guys, and we just been growing up together.”
After only winning one game a season ago, senior safety Marcus White could feel the urgency in this year’s group. “We’re working harder. We’re, putting in a more effort during our drills and when we go [full team drills],” White said.
For Head Coach Dustin Mills, it was a return to the helm of the Clippers football program after previously stepping down back in 2021. “It’s been four years since I’ve done this or trying to get kind of my legs back underneath me, but it’s been awesome,” Mills said. “It’s been great to be around the guys, around the assistant coaches. We’re having fun, working, getting after it.”
Though he never left football entirely, Coach Mills returned from his head coaching hiatus with a renewed philosophy.
“Something in the last four years I’ve kind of had the opportunity to reflect on–I think sometimes as coaches, we get really caught up in what the other team is doing and what our response is,” Mills offered, continuing, “But if you look around at any successful program, what they really focus on is ‘Here’s what we do. We focus on ourselves. We get better every day. And then we go out there and execute our stuff.'”
With a number of underclassmen expected to contribute alongside their seniors, the Clippers are hoping they’ve found a recipe for their first winning season since 2018. “If you expect different results, you need to do things differently. You know, we need to approach the game differently,” said Mills.
James M. Bennett opens their season on the road on Friday, September 4th against Colonel Richardson.
