Bobby Bentley
ALLEN SHARPE/Submitted

On Monday, Battle Ground Academy (BGA) announced Bobby Bentley as its new head football coach. 

The veteran high school and college football coach replaces Jonas Rodriguez, who resigned in November after compiling a 25-30 record during his five seasons leading the Wildcats. Last season, BGA finished 5-6 and lost in the opening round of the Division II-AA state playoffs.

“We are thrilled to welcome coach Bentley to BGA. His proven track record of growing and sustaining excellence at the high school level and his knowledge and understanding of collegiate football at the highest level make him an ideal leader for our football team,” BGA Head of School Will Kesler said in a news release.

“Throughout our search process, he demonstrated both a passion and a plan for ensuring that our program will have an incredibly positive impact on the lives of student-athletes in high school and beyond. We are delighted to welcome Bobby and Paulette, as well as their entire family, to the BGA community. Under his leadership, we look forward to the next chapter of BGA’s great football tradition.”

Bentley comes to Franklin with a decorated resume. He began his coaching career in 1990 as an assistant at James F. Byrnes High School in South Carolina before taking over as head coach in 1995. He led the Rebels to four consecutive state titles from 2002-05, winning the Nike National High School Coach of the Year award in 2002. During his 11 seasons leading the program, Byrnes posted a record of 119-54. 

“It is an honor for me to be named head football coach at Battle Ground Academy,” Bentley said in the release. “Our goal is to develop a program that all involved can be proud of and truly develops young men on and off the field. I am beyond excited to get to work and make an impact with the team.”

In 2007, Bentley left Byrnes to be the head coach at his alma mater Presbyterian, where he was a quarterback during his playing career. He posted a record of 10-13 in two seasons before returning to Byrnes. He spent three seasons at the athletic director at Byrnes, as well as one final season as head coach in 2013, before moving back to the college level. 

Byrnes spent two seasons as an offensive analyst under Gus Malzahn at Auburn, five seasons at South Carolina as a running back and tight end coach, and two seasons at South Florida as a wide receiver/passing game coach before reuniting with Malzahn at Central Florida last season as an analyst.