Benson County’s Macyn Olson claims Athlete of the Week honor after win (Aug. 29 – Sep. 4)

LEEDS – The 2021 high school football campaign was challenging for the Benson County Wildcats.

Losing all eight games on their football schedule was only the start. Losing all eight games by a combined score of 362-84 was undoubtedly another. Then, there was the head coaching side of the coin. After Bradley Kitzmann stepped down from the head-coaching role for health reasons, it was up to Justin Maddock to swiftly take over the reins and find any spark he could kindle. 

“We have young core guys here,” Maddock said. “We start a lot of sophomores, and they have a lot of fight in them. They have been a part of winning teams, and they really want to get this program back to where it was 15 years ago when we were going to state playoff and state championship games. That is their drive, and that is their goal. The big character trait with this team is that we do not quit.” 

Fast forward to 2022, and the Wildcats might have found that spark in the form of Macyn Olson. After a convincing poll, the junior is this week’s Athlete of the Week.

2021 was a struggle for Olson, as it was for practically every other football player that donned a Benson County uniform. But that didn’t prevent Olson from showing the same character and drive that his head coach mentioned. As a sophomore, Olson finished the 2021 season with 324 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns. Both marks led all players on the team. Olson’s 62 yards added on the ground additionally ranked fourth, behind Logan Maddock (297), Aden Jensen (214) and Noah Herrington (64).

Olson did more than show out in Benson County’s 59-8 win over Midway/Minto on Sep. 2. He excelled. Not only did Olson double his rushing yardage from last season in only one game (117 yards), but he also scored via the rushing game (two rushing touchdowns). To add to the spectacle, Olson amassed 30 receiving yards (four receptions) and a receiving touchdown. 

Once you wrap the entire package in a blue Benson County-themed bow, you have an all-around offensive performance that helped net Benson County their first win in more than a full calendar year.

But Olson’s Friday performance didn’t start and end offensively. Defensively, Olson added four tackles, two interceptions and one fumble recovery returned for a touchdown.

Such character, not to mention drive, can only help Olson down the road.

The Devils Lake Journal hosts the “Athlete of the Week” contest weekly. Athletes nominated and/or given the award are based on the athlete’s performance from the prior week. Ballot nominations are submitted by coaches from Saturday morning to Monday at 10:00 a.m. Finalist voting starts Monday at noon and ends Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. CDT. The ballot winner will be featured in a profile for the publication.

The following programs and regions can nominate an athlete for the award: Lake Region State College, Devils Lake, Langdon Area/Edmore/Munich (Football, Volleyball), Cavalier (Football), Larimore (Football), Midway/Minto (Football), Nelson County (Football, Volleyball), North Border (Football), Benson County (Football, Volleyball), Four Winds/Minnewaukan (Football, Volleyball), New Rockford-Sheyenne (Football, Volleyball), North Prairie (Football, Volleyball), North Star (Football, Volleyball), Dunseith (Volleyball), Harvey/Wells County (Volleyball), Rolette (Volleyball) or St. John (Volleyball).

Voting results: 

–      Macyn Olson, WR/LB, Benson County: 50.5% (49 votes)

–      Landon Carter, RB/DB, Cavalier: 21.6% (21 votes)

John Crane is a sports/general assignment reporter for the Devils Lake Journal. Feel free to contact John via work phone (701-922-1372), cell phone (701-230-4339), email (jcrane@gannett.com), Instagram (johnbcranesports) or Twitter (@johncranesports) with any story ideas.