Manning native Fred Bennett played cornerback for the Manning High School Monarchs and the University of South Carolina Gamecocks.
But he won his first championship with the Calgary Stampeders, taking with his team of three years the Grey Cup on Sunday in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
"I'm a loss for words," Bennett said. "It's my first every championship win playing football. It's special to me."
The Grey Cup is the top championship in the Canadian Football League, similar to the U.S. Super Bowl. Bennett played in the NFL after being picked in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft, but was released from several teams before getting to Calvary. After three years with what he calls a "first-class" organization, he has no plans to leave.
"I will definitely be there next year," he said.
Though he lives in Ridgleand permanently, he calls Canada home for about half the year.
"The main difference between Canadian and U.S. football is that we get a longer off-season than the Americans do," he said. "So we get a full six months to come home and return to our families."
He said there are some rule differences as well.
"The field is much bigger up here, so it requires a lot more running," said Bennett, who has been named by Canadian news outlets as one of the fastest players in the league.
"But if you have a passion for football, yeah, some of the rules are different," he said. "But other than that, it's football."
The 30 year old said he was proud to finish the season with the No. 1 team. The honor awarded them a first-round bye, a week off, during the playoffs, allowing the team to regroup and rest.
"After the week off, we hosted the Western Conference Finals against the Edmonton Eskimos, who were the No. 2 ranked team for the season," Bennett said. "They're sort of the rivalry for the Stampeders."
Bennett said he's especially proud of having started in Sunday's game.
"I have started in every game and played in every game for all my three years with the team," he said. "It's a team that I love being a part of it. It's a real team, and there's a real atmosphere and environment there that everyone wants to be part of."
