How DC Everest RB Blake Bangston Came Back Better Than Ever

WAUSAU – Last year, DC Everest had its two-back racing system decimated before it could really take off.

Evergreens senior running back and wrestling star Blake Bangston and his brother, former Evergreens running back Cayden Bangston, both had their seasons ruined by injury.

Cayden, who was class of 2024, fell in the fourth week.

A few weeks later, Blake was slow to get up. Shortly after, he learned he would sit out a significant portion of the regular season.

That seemed like “centuries ago”.

With a week left in the 2024 season, things are looking much better for the Evergreens. Bangston is healthy and stands out as one of the state’s most productive defenders for DC Everest.

Right now, he’s doing more than just carrying the ball; he’s putting his team on his back.

“You know, his injury last year kind of kept him from completing the season,” Evergreens first-year coach Braden Mitchell said. “But he got healthy and was able to excel in wrestling, and then he worked really hard during the offseason to get his body ready.

To be able to get 50 touches on Friday night is crazy compared to where he was last year.”

Bangston combined for 766 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in his two seasons with the Evergreens before being placed on the injured list last year.

A year later, he returned from injury better than ever, entering the final week of the season with 1,292 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns in eight games.

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In his last seven games, he has rushed for at least 100 yards, which includes two 200-yard rushing games. One against River Falls, where he ran for 264 yards and scored six touchdowns, and most recently against Stevens Point on October 11th.

In the conference matchup against the Panthers, he scored three touchdowns in the first half and finished running the ball 45 times, pummeling the Panther defense for 249 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

He added a stellar receiver stat line to his performance, recording five receptions for 112 yards and a touchdown.

Mitchell noted that the injury significantly affected Bangston, who did his best to recover for the postseason, but stated that a return was unlikely.

“I think that’s probably part of the reason why he didn’t get as much recognition and stuff from other colleges and stuff, because he missed half of his freshman year,” Mitchell said. “But I think he handled it really well.”

Senior quarterback Logan George doesn’t take the stress-relieving benefits of playing with Bangston for granted; he said everything the Evergreens want to do on offense goes through him.

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“He runs our offense,” George said after the Evergreens’ 47-41 double overtime victory over SPASH. “Everything goes through him because the whole team is there when he is there.

I can throw the ball because he can run the ball.”

Mitchell said what stands out most about Bangston is that he only knows one speed: live action.

“There’s no passing speed for him,” Mitchell said. “Some of the defenders are like, ‘Hey man, we’re just scoring, like we’re not making full contact and stuff.’ But he only knows one speed when he runs the ball.

So what you see on the field on Friday is what it’s like from Monday to Thursday and again.'”

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For Bangston, games like the critical conference matchup against SPASH on Oct. 11 don’t make him uncomfortable.

For him, there is no pressure; he’s just doing what he loves and understands that the hard work will pay off.

“You know, I’m just having fun,” Blake Bangston said. “There’s not a lot of pressure on me. I’ve loved it since I was a kid. It’s the best game in the world. I just want to be the best I can be, so I’ll train, come get up and work hard to be the best I can be.”

Contact or send game stats/information to sports reporter Alfred Smith III at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @AlfredS_III