Updated at 6:48 p.m. with quotes from Malbasa CLEVELAND, Ohio - Ben Malbasa was a winning football coach at Elyria Catholic the past four seasons and he'll now have a chance to continue his success in Cuyahoga County.
Updated at 6:48 p.m. with quotes from Malbasa
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Ben Malbasa was a winning football coach at Elyria Catholic the past four seasons and he'll now have a chance to continue his success in Cuyahoga County.
Malbasa, a University School graduate and Bratenahl resident, has been named as Benedictine's new football coach.
"I have mixed feelings," said Malbasa, 32, who compiled a 31-12 record at Elyria Catholic with three North Coast League White Division titles and two Division IV postseason appearances. "There's great administrators at Elyria Catholic but more importantly, the kids are great but this is a good opportunity.
"I'm going from one [football] program with a great tradition to another program with great tradition and, of course, Benedictine is closer to my home."
Malbasa was one of 62 people who applied for the position. That list was cut to 13, then seven before he was chosen from a pool of four finalists.
He leaves Elyria Catholic as the coed parochial school in Lorain County begins serving a three-year probation, with restrictions placed on a member of the football coaching staff.
The football program was recently found in violation of an Ohio High School Athletic Association recruiting rule (bylaw 4-9-3) when a member of the coaching staff spoke to two students while they were in the eighth grade. It was determined the contact was an attempt to get them to enroll at the school.
"That was part of our discussion with Ben during the interviewing process," said Benedictine principal Joe Gressock. "Ben was very forthcoming on the situation and when we looked at it, we found out he wasn't the one who committed the violation."
Malbasa, who teaches English, has a bachelor's degree from John Carroll, a master's degree from St. John's College in Annapolis and a law degree from Case Western Reserve. He will join Benedictine's faculty in June after his contract expires at Elyria Catholic.
"We don't know what Ben will teach right now, but he will be on staff," said Gressock.
Malbasa succeeds Art Bortnick, who announced his resignation in late October. Bortnick posted a 65-61 record in 11 seasons, including Division III state titles in 2003 and 2004. However, the Bengals have struggled since the most recent title, logging six straight losing seasons.