CLEVELAND — Mark Pinzone picked up more hardware Sunday, as the Buckeye football coach was named the Cleveland Browns 2015 High School Coach of the Year.
Pinzone topped nine other finalists for the award. The 45-year-old was honored at halftime of Cleveland’s 24-10 victory over the San Francisco 49ers with Bucks players Trevor Thome, Nathan Scott, Brad Calta and Jalin Brock and 9-year-old son Anthony at his side.
Along with Pinzone’s award, the Buckeye football program was presented with a $4,000 check from the Cleveland Browns Foundation. The Bucks also received an additional $2,000 for Pinzone being a finalist.
“The (players) snuck up behind me,” Pinzone said. “They kept it from me. I guess they found about it last week some time, but I thought I was just going on the field with those other (nine finalists). Athletic director Glen (Reisner) told me today there were another 10 (Buckeye players) at that game, but they were in the stands because only four kids can go on the field.
“The money is very nice. I’m real happy for Buckeye. That’s $6,000 Buckeye football is getting.”
Buckeye finished 10-0 in the regular season for the second time school history (2005), won its third consecutive Patriot Athletic Conference Stars Division championship and qualified for the Division III playoffs for the third straight year.
Pinzone is the two-time reigning Gazette Coach of the Year. He also was Northeast Inland D-III Coach of the Year in 2014.
The Cleveland Browns High School Coach of the Year award is based on overall body of work during the regular season. Only schools that played in a Cleveland Browns High School Game of the Week — selected by online fan voting — are eligible.
Other finalists were Dan Boardman (St. Vincent-St. Mary), Lou Cirino (West Geauga), Shawn Dodd (Eastlake North), Luke Durbin (North Ridgeville), Andrew Mooney (Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin), Ron Rutt (Bay), D.J. Shaw (Midview), Steve Trivisonno (Mentor) and Josh Wells (Rocky River).