The news of the hiring of Dennis Bene by his alma mater Salpointe as head coach was published on Page 10 of the March 8, 2001, Arizona Daily Star sports section under a half page devoted to the weather.
Whenever Bene coaches his last game 19 years later — either tonight against Chandler at Hamilton High School at Chandler or in two weeks in the Open Division championship game at Sun Devil Stadium — it will be front-page news.
After 14 regional titles and a state championship in 2013 capping a 14-0 season, Bene is no longer an afterthought. He is a legend with a 184-43 career record, all at Salpointe. He announced in August that he will step down upon completion of the season to devote more time to his family and his Southern Arizona Paving Co.
At practice this week, Bene touched on his career coaching Salpointe with the season winding down.
Top Southern Arizona High School Football Coaching Records
Top Tucson-area high school football coaches and their overall career head coaching records. Compiled and researched by AllSportsTucson.com.| Coach | Current School | Class | W | L | T | Pct. | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis Bene | Salpointe | 4A | 184 | 43 | 0 | .811 | 19 |
| Richard Sanchez | Santa Rita | 2A | 161 | 75 | 0 | .682 | 20 |
| Pat Nugent | Cienega | 5A | 136 | 57 | 0 | .705 | 17 |
| Chris Determan | Benson | 2A | 125 | 81 | 1 | .606 | 19 |
| Matt Johnson | Mountain View | 5A | 119 | 66 | 0 | .643 | 16 |
“I don’t really think about it. I mean, it comes up, obviously, or people ask me about it, but for me personally, it’s like I told people, I’m in a really good place,” said Bene, a record-breaking passer at Salpointe who graduated in 1984. “Right now, my only concern is helping these kids win a football game. They’re a joy to be around. They’ve been a blessing to me.
“I am just super proud of them.”
Bene paused for a bit and looked over at some of his players walking off the practice field. His voice became softer.
“I just want to, you know … we have to win to keep this going,” he said. “Winning allows me to hang around them for a little longer and that’s really a joy.
“Yeah, it truly is. I mean, they are such a great group. I enjoy being around them. We laugh. They make me laugh. We have such good rapport, you know, a strong mutual respect for each other.”
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.
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