Family Matters: Stephen Dennis switches head coaching jobs to Benton where his own family played a significant role – GeauxPreps – Louisiana High School Sports

by: William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

Stephen Dennis took a long look at the wall of his Huntington High football office and wondered where the time went.

It was a drawing produced by his then 4-year-old son.

That was eight years ago, and that same son is now 12 and headed for the seventh grade, just one of the layers Dennis considered when he decided to leave Huntington to become head coach at Benton High.

The 40-year-old Dennis officially begins his new job on Jan. 7.

“I was 32 and somehow I blinked, and eight years went by,” Dennis said of his time at Huntington. “It was some of the best eight years and the kids in west Shreveport are amazing.”

Had it not been for his two sons, both of whom play football, and a daughter who all attend Bossier Parish schools, Dennis may have been inclined to remain at Huntington which he led to a 39-25 record and six straight playoff appearances the past six seasons.

Dennis helped to stabilize Huntington’s program which had incurred eight head coaches in 12 seasons. After two straight lean years, the Raiders were elevated to a playoff regular which included their first season in Class 5A.

Huntington finished 6-6 overall with a first-round playoff victory over Hammond (34-6) followed by a loss to eventual state champion Karr (56-6) in the Division I select bracket.

“I’m really proud,” said Dennis, who said offensive coordinator Jeff Bordelon will be part of his staff at Benton. “I had a great staff around me. It was never a Stephen Dennis thing as much as it was a ‘we’ thing.”

Dennis has deep roots in Bossier Parish, having graduated from Parkway High where he played his final season under Jim Galen.

He went on to play offensive line for Dennis Dunn at Louisiana College (now Louisiana Christian) where he also remained to embark on a coaching career that’s now reached 17 years.

Galen hired Dennis to be his defensive coordinator at Northwood in Shreveport for six years and laid the foundation for his becoming a head coach for the first time at Huntington.

“He’s the one that encouraged me to take the job at Huntington,” Dennis said of Galen. “He thought it was a good opportunity to go and build something and I was lucky enough to get the opportunity there.”

The demands of a coaching schedule seldom align with that of three children in school, forcing Dennis to say his goodbyes in the morning to go to work in an adjoining parish.

“It was getting to that time where I was going to have to make a decision and in order for them to come to Huntington, not only would they have to go to a new school, but they would have to go to a new school in a new parish,” he said. “They love Bossier Parish schools, and this gives them the chance to be on the same campus as me and not have to completely change parishes.

“It was just the best move for my family,” Dennis said. “My daughter will be 3 in February. In four years, I’ll have both of my boys with me at Benton and less than 100 yards away will be my daughter at the elementary school. All three kids will load up and ride to school with me. To somebody that’s never been able to drive their kids to school, it’s important to me to get that time. I may have missed out on that time early on, but maybe I’m going to get blessed to get some of that back with this opportunity.”

During Huntington’s 4-0 start to its District 1-5A season, the Raiders traveled to Benton for a league game in which they prevailed, 27-21.

Huntington dropped consecutive 1-5A games by four points to Byrd (24-20), and 27 points to Parkway (49-22), before finishing 5-3 with a win over Natchitoches Central (36-25) and a defeat at the hands of district champion Airline (59-54).

Benton went on to suffer a rare losing season under Reynolds Moore, who after 12 seasons, stepped down following a 1-9 record. He’s the program’s second-winning coach with an 83-54 record that included three district championships, seven winning seasons, and 10 trips to the state playoffs.

“We have a saying, and it applies wherever you’re at,” Dennis said. “We want to leave things better than when we found them. Coach Moore left things in a very good place, but the challenge becomes to leave it even better than we found it. That’s what we’re going to set out to do. We understand that’s going to take work, it’s going to take a commitment. We’re excited for the opportunity to do that.”

Dennis said it was Benton’s tradition that served as a catalyst in the position. 

The Tigers first enjoyed success under the program’s career-winningest coach Mitch Downey with 141 victories over a 16-year span and added another 22 wins under Caleb Guidry, who after 14 years as an assistant, was a head coach for four years until Moore’s 12-year tenure.

The Tigers went 10-0 in 2017 and wound up 11-1 which was the final season in a four-year stretch of double-digit wins.

“To be a part of the history there with such a rich history and commitment to excellence from that community, going back to when I was playing in the same district as them at Parkway,” Dennis said. “The community support was evident for the last 30-40 years, and you can see the growth of the school from a 4A to a 5A school.

“I’m the fourth head coach in 31 years,” Dennis said. “All three of them, I could pick up the phone and call. Coach Downey is still a huge advocate in the community and is the one that got the program rolling in 1993. That commitment to excellence, that commitment to provide the resources for what it takes to be elite was something I wanted to be a part of.”

Upon taking the position Dennis said he was grateful to Benton’s administration and the Bossier Parish school board for allowing him to inform his team at Huntington before news spread of his impending move.

It was a sensitive subject Dennis took to heart after pouring so much of his time and energy to get the Raiders up and running. 

“That meant the world to me,” Dennis said. “I didn’t want those kids to find out on the news. That same day, I got to meet with some of the kids at Benton to introduce myself and I’m sure they’re going to be a great group of kids to work with.”

Voluntary workouts in the weight room over the Christmas holiday followed Dennis’ first team meeting. He’s been able to meet several more members of his new team who will notice his passion for his job.

“When you love kids and love coaching, it’s fun,” he said. “That’s the fun part. It’s another group to get to know, another group that hopefully you can have an impact on and have them be better men than when they walked in the door as freshmen.”

The differences in Year 1 at Huntington and Benon are striking. 

Not only was Dennis the latest in a revolving door of head coaches at Huntington that he eventually halted with an eight-year stay. By contrast, he’s the third coach in a three-decade span at Benton which dresses out 120 players compared to 30 in Dennis’ first year with the Raiders.

“There will be things we’ll do different ways, but I want to be careful to honor the successes of the coaches that came before me and to understand they did things the right way for a long time,” Dennis said. “The focus is figuring out what needs to be changed and figuring on what’s right.

“I hope in the next 10 years it doesn’t feel like things have flashed by and that the community’s proud of the product on the field,” Dennis said. “I’m excited to be a Tiger, excited for my family, what it means to me, and what it’s going to feel to be a part of that amazing community.”

Featured Image Courtesy of Kevin Pickens