River Ridge’s Benjamin named Tampa Bay Bucs Coach of the Week

Posted Sep 8, 2011 by Bart O'Connell

Updated Sep 9, 2011 at 02:07 PM

To kick off the 2011 season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looked to Pasco County for the first in a series of prep coaching honors that it gives each season to the coaches of 10 lucky teams.

This week, former Bucs player and first-year River Ridge coach Ryan Benjamin was named the Bucs Coach of the Week, attending practice at One Buc Place in Tampa. Benjamin guided the Knights to a 17-14 win against Fivay that was decided in the final minutes with a 53-yard field goal by Phil Molina.

Molina, Austin Schwarz (11 tackles, 3 sacks), Kyle Bartlett (9 tackles, punt block, interception, sack), and Curtis Watts (13 tackles, sack) accompanied Benjamin on the trip.

“Those guys deserved to go over there and have that opportunity,” Benjamin said. “I told them it was a team award, and they were making me look good.”

Last season Chris Taylor from Fivay and Matt Nardo from Bishop McLaughlin earned Bucs Coach of the Week honors.

Benjamin is now eligible to be named High School Coach of the Year by the Bucs. Last season the recipient of that award, Brandon’s John Lima, also received a $1,000 donation from the Bucs to go toward the football program.

Correspondent Bart O’Connell can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/@BartOTrib.

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