By Brad Greer

North Delta head football coach Dan Werner did not have to look very hard to find someone to fill the defensive coordinator position. All Werner had to do was to wait for a phone call from an old friend.

 Bengy Pierce was recently introduced as the new defensive coordinator and strength coach for the Green Wave.

Pierce brings a wealth of experience to North Delta after holding several high school and college coaching positions in Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana. Pierce spent  last  season as head football coach and Athletic Director at Natchitoches Central High School in Natchitoches, La.

After receiving  his masters degree from Delta State, Pierce  served as strength coach at Ole Miss from 1995-2000 then coached with Werner  for two seasons at Louisiana Tech and was also defensive coordinator at both Henderson St. (Ark.) and Northwestern, (La.) at different times of his career. Pierce is married to the former Mary Grace Flowers of Clarksdale

“My wife  wanted to get back close to her home so I called Coach Werner and ask him if there were any coaching jobs open in the area so he asked me if I would like to join him on the staff here at North Delta. This is a great opportunity for us family-wise and we are very excited to get back over this way,” said Pierce, who has a daughter who is a senior at Natchitoches Central and a son attending college at Northwestern State.

The Crossett, Ark. native was a three-year letterman and team caption at Crossett High School before moving on to Arkansas-Monticello where he lettered all four years and was a All-Conference selection two years in a row.

“We will be in a base 4-3 defense and will try to be as multiple as we can and keep it simple for the kids but at the same time be aggressive and run to the football and hopefully create some turnovers so the offense can get the ball in good field position and make some plays,” said Pierce.

Pierce will also oversee the strength and conditioning programs on the high school and junior high teams at North Delta.

“We would like to teach the younger guys in our program to get ready for the high school level and enjoy coming out here and having fun and having a great high school career, said Pierce.

“We are very fortunate and lucky to have Coach Pierce to join our program here at North Delta,“ said Werner.  “We need a defensive coordinator and a strength coach and he has done both at the collegiate level. There is no way I would have ever dreamed of getting someone with his experience. He is going to be a very big asset to our program,“ said Werner.

Pierce will be the physical education teacher for the elementary school.

“We are excited about what Coach Pierce brings to our football program but we  are also excited about what he can do with the overall strength and conditioning program in all of our sports,” said North Delta headmaster John Howell Jr.