Dennis Knight
Savannah Morning News
When Danny Britt took over as the coach of the Benedictine football program in 2011, he had relatively modest goals that didn't even include winning a state title.
But as the program began to grow and the team started racking up state championships, his vision grew along with it. At first, I never thought we would win a state championship, but several years later we started dreaming about becoming a program on the national level," said Britt, the former Georgia Southern star who turns 53 at the end of the year. "If we're not there yet, we're getting there fast."
Britt starts his 14th season with a record of 146-29 leading the Cadets (he has an overall career record of 178-51 including five seasons at Calvary Day). He led BC to its first state championship in 2014, and followed with state title runs in 2016, 2021 and 2022. Last year, the Cadets reached the Class 4A state semis and finished the year with a 13-1 record.
"Our schedule is so tough we can't have players worried about how many touches they get or playing time, we have to be worried about winning as a team," said Britt, who will work individually with the defensive backs this season. "We have the talent to win every game, but if we drop one ― we need to work to get better from it."
The Cadets are blessed with talent with a senior class that includes 6-foot-4, 335-pound offensive tackle Jacob Ward, who has committed to Auburn and edge/linebacker Third Scroggins, who is headed to play at Miami.
Receiver Bubba Frazier is coming off an impressive sophomore campaign and has seen his recruitment skyrocket with an offer from Georgia over the summer. His classmate, defensive tackle Kam Cody, is an inspiration with his comeback from a heart incident that nearly cost him his life. Cody is now a 4-star recruit with offers including Miami, Arkansas, USC and North Carolina.
The Cadets have a new man behind center in junior quarterback Stephen Cannon, who replaces Cadet star Luke Kromenhoek, now a freshman at Florida State. Cannon already has offers from USF and Miami of Ohio and he looked impressive in a 23-0 scrimmage win over Camden County Friday night as he connected for a pair of touchdown passes with Frazier. "It felt really good to see where I am at," Cannon said. "And I proved to myself that I have what it takes to lead the offense."
Sophomore Stanley Smart Jr., a 5-foot-10, 185-pound sophomore is an accomplished sprinter who has run a 10.65 in the 100 meters, winning the freshman title at the New Balance Nationals this summer. He'll be the featured running back, with Frazier also getting his share of touches in the run game.
The defense is expected to be tough once again with Scroggins and Cody leading a front seven that includes junior linebacker Larson Little, who had 100 tackles last season. The secondary has veteran leadership in senior Zach Maxwell, three-year starter at corner and junior safety Micah Williams, who led the squad with three picks last year to go along with 75 tackles and has an offer from North Carolina.
Senior kicker/punter Connor Ferguson is No. 7 in the nation in the Kohl's National Kicker Rankings. He converted 68 of 69 extra points last year and eight of 19 field goals with a long of 46 yards and is a touchback machine on kickoffs. He has offers from Valdosta State, Arkansas State and Murray State.
"I was impressed with our physicality across the board," Britt said. "The pace of play was really good and I'm proud of the depth we showed in our rotations, especially on the defensive line."
