SPORTS
By Mitch Lehman

The drill calls for a running back to carry the football into the line of scrimmage, choose a hole, and try to
make the tackler miss.
Uncomplicated, and requiring the skills most fundamental to the sport of football, the exercise is so common to the practice sessions for the San Marino High School varsity football program it doesn’t even have a name.
It was hot, senior linebacker and tight end Dylan Bensinger recalls, and the pre-season practice session was carrying on without incident until Trent Converse chose a hole, Bensinger made a move to “stuff it,” in the parlance of the game, and a season which held so much promise for the talented two-sport athlete was over before it ever got started on Monday, September 8.
A dislocated shoulder, labrum torn in two places, and injury to “two other ligaments with fancy names that I don’t know how to pronounce,” in Dylan’s words, made quick work of something for which he had waited a long time – his senior season.
More dramatic than how it ended is what began several days later when he returned to the sidelines. Because since that fateful moment, Dylan Bensinger has not missed a Titan football game, practice, meeting or team dinner, setting a precedent for dedication uncommon to the sport.
“Dylan shows up for everything,” said head Coach D.R. Moreland. “We have had kids get hurt in the past and they show up when they feel like it, and I can’t really blame them. But Dylan is different. What he does is not typical. Even though he is hurt, he is doing all the things that team leaders do, encouraging his buddies and just sharing in the experience.”
When asked if he was surprised at Bensinger’s response to his disappointing circumstances, the coach hesitated nary a moment.
“No, it doesn't surprise me at all,” said Moreland. “Dylan is a great kid. He is the kind of guy you like to have around. He is a true leader and there is no doubt that he would have been a captain had he been able to play this season.”
Eric Sepulveda, San Marino’s linebackers and running backs coach, readily agreed.
“It really tells a lot about the player and the heart he has,” Sepulveda said. “It is really phenomenal to see that he has continued to dedicate himself so thoroughly to the team even though there was no chance of him returning to the playing field. Dylan has always been one of our team leaders. We definitely had high expectations for him and it was unfortunate to see him go down for the remainder of the season. It was a big loss to us and part of the adversity we had to face. But a great deal of the football experience is facing adversity.”
Bensinger has had a lot of company on the sideline – too much company, supporters of the program would say. In no particular order, senior quarterback Steven Wright, senior wide receiver Jonathan Merhaut senior wide receiver Daniel Cisic and sophomore receiver Seve Woods have each suffered – you guessed it – shoulder injuries that have resulted in all different manners of missed playing time.
Moreland calls the rash of shoulder injuries “a bizarre coincidence,” but he is not surprised by how his student-athletes have responded to their respective fates.
“It really shows the kind of character they have,” Moreland continued. “Even though they are hurt, they know things matter. It speaks volumes about the kind of kids they are. Whether they are able to play or not, they are a part of the team and they know their presence is important.”
When Wright suffered a season-ending injury to his collarbone during the second half of San Marino’s victory over South Pasadena, Bensinger was the first person to visit the quarterback when he returned home from his trip to Huntington Memorial.
Bensinger presented Wright with the same shoulder harness he had worn during the early days and weeks of his injury. Along with it, he bore the sage experience of disappointment and recovery.
“It was one of, if not the worst, feeling I have ever had athletically,” Dylan said. “All the work and the summer practices just to sit for the whole year. It’s disappointing.”
On his remarkable dedication to the football program, Dylan said “I didn’t sign up to play this year so I could rack up the stats or anything like that. I went through all the hardest parts of football during the preseason workouts over the summer, and I made a commitment to the team. I couldn’t live with myself if I broke that commitment. I figured I could keep being a part of the team, finish what I started and be proud of an effort even if it wasn’t in pads on the field. I felt like being absent after an injury would be selfish and contrary to the changes in attitude and habits that the coaches and players have been preaching since spring.”
He figured right.