BASSETT, Va. – Our 1st and 10 Camp Tour rolls down to Southside where the Bassett Bengals are building off the momentum of their successful 2022 season.
After dropping the first two games of the season, the Bengals went on a 7-game win streak, including a Region 3D semifinal playoff appearance. The loss of an athlete like quarterback Ja’Ricous Hairston (who is now at Virginia Tech) certainly has an impact. But there’s plenty of talent on this roster ready to make noise, as head coach Brandon Johnson has set the standard of winning in Bassett in his 7th season.
“You know, we graduated probably 90% of our production from last year, so my challenge for these guys is to show them what our program is about,” Johnson said. “Now, you’re not going to hear about Ja’Ricous Hairston, Elijah Stokes, Jacob Gilbert, you’re not going to hear those names, so now it’s time to make a name for yourself. It’s Bassett football, we are senior lead, we have 25 seniors. Some guys who haven’t really had a lot of playing time, some of them have, some of them haven’t, but they’re ready to prove themselves.
“Our defense- fly to the ball, hit, we can beat anybody, for real,” senior Joshua Dawson said.
“We hit hard, we’re going to all be physical, all physicality, and we all know what we’re doing, going through our technique,” senior Zycheus Hylton added.
Bassett opens their season on Friday August 25th against Rockbridge.