Football Co-Captain Bennett Rodgers ’26, originally from Texas, has been playing the sport since elementary school, beginning with flag football. In middle school, he progressed to tackle football and has since stuck with the sport. A four-year Senior and defensive back on the team, Rodgers has become a key player on the defensive side and seeks to guide the team to its most successful season to date.
Upon arriving at Andover, Rodgers instantly found a home on the team, building strong relationships and enjoying every moment with his teammates.
“I love the team aspect of football and I love playing with my friends, and then eventually, they just became my family. Playing for Andover has definitely been a great experience for me, and I really look forward to the season. I look forward to every practice, just being able to play with my brothers, and it’s just really fun,” said Rodgers.
A newcomer to the team, linebacker Nate Dubuc ’28 praised Rodgers’ ability to be a welcoming presence on and off the field. Regardless of the environment, Rodgers leads with a smile and positive words to say.
“Bennett is a great leader, always pumped up, always just putting on some great music in the locker room. And during warm-ups, he’s giving everyone high fives. [He’s a] great leader on and off the field too. When you see him outside of football, walking on the paths, he’s always saying ‘what’s up’ and always has a positive attitude,” said Dubuc.
Throughout his captainship, Rodgers has noticed himself growing in terms of his leadership, being more vocal with his teammates and uplifting them during practices or in games. Rodgers echoed Dubuc’s sentiments about his positive attitude by recalling the team’s most recent game against Suffield.
“Just in the last game, there was a pivotal moment where, on the offensive side, something bad happened. I told my defense that it’s important for us to set the tone and make sure we can bounce back. So I told my team, we can’t let this one play get us down. We’ve got to stay up, and we’ve got to keep moving. Ultimately, that let us win the game. On the defensive side, we were able to get a shutout, and we didn’t let them score,” said Rodgers.
Rodgers’ vocal leadership can be seen in the way he inspires his teammates. Isaac Leeper ’27 shared the biggest piece of advice he received from the Co-Captain, which lies in thinking in the present rather than dwelling on past mistakes.
“Everybody makes mistakes, and Bennett sets an example of thinking like a goldfish. You don’t want to get down, because it’s just gonna go downhill for you. You can’t change the past, and you’ve gotta really hunker down for the next play because you never know when the next big play is gonna happen. If you’re too busy worrying about what happened on the last play, you’re not going to make the next one. So if you move on, better things are going to come,” said Leeper.
Starting the season 0-3, Bennett was able to keep team morale up and instill hope in the team’s future throughout the whole squad, helping them bounce back. Looking ahead, he hopes to capitalize on the team’s recent success by qualifying for one of the Bowl Games, which requires the team to win at least five games, and triumphing against longtime rival Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter).
“One of the main things is you just have to stay optimistic and tell your team that we have to bounce back from this. We know how we can play. We know that we’re good. And that’s really translated into our last few games because now we’ve won two in a row and we’re looking to win our third game,” said Rodgers.
Rodgers continued, “I know in the past we haven’t had as much success, but I feel that this year, we really have a good chance of winning games and making the Bowl Games. That is one of my main goals. Another goal for me would be to beat Exeter. I’ve marked that down on my calendar, and that’s going to be the most important game, at least for me.”
