As Tampa Chamberlain continues to find the right successor to recently retired longtime football coach Billy Turner, its administration suddenly has another issue: replacing basketball coach Doug Aplin, who has held that post since 1978.
Aplin, 55, stepped down as basketball coach last week. He will continue to teach at the north Tampa school. With Aplin’s departure, the Chiefs lose a coach who guided the program to 516 wins in 31 seasons and advanced to the state championship game in 1990 and 2006.
In other coaching news, St. Petersburg Gibbs has hired former Tampa Bay Buccaneer player Donnie Abraham as its head football coach.
A defensive back for the Buccaneers and New York Jets, Abraham has been an assistant with Tarpon Springs East Lake during the past few seasons. The former NFL Pro Bowler (2000) had applied for several Bay area head coaching positions in recent years before being hired at Gibbs.
The Gladiators advanced to the state playoffs as recently as the 2007 season.
Meanwhile, Land O’ Lakes has announced its successor to longtime coach John Benedetto.
Matt Kitchie, who started private school Bradenton St. Stephen’s football program in 2006, has been named head coach at Land O’ Lakes.
Kitchie will take over for Benedetto, who has coached at Land O’ Lakes the past 32 years. Benedetto stepped down after his teaching contract was not renewed for the fall. He led the Gators to 196 victories during his tenure.
The Gators have advanced to the state playoffs in each of the past 12 seasons.
Kitchie, 31, comes to Land O’ Lakes after two 5-5 varsity seasons at St. Stephen’s and assistant stints at Bradenton Southeast and Eastern Kentucky University.
Stephenie Crawford will take over the boys basketball program at Tampa Hillsborough. Crawford, a head girls coach at Tarpon Springs East Lake and Clearwater Countryside, becomes the first woman to helm a boys basketball program in the Tampa Bay area.
Crawford, 38, is an Air Force veteran and a former assistant with local AAU programs and Hillsborough Community College’s women’s program.
Baseball: Hawk earns top award
Robert Benincasa, whose pitching helped lead Seffner Armwood to the Class 5A state baseball semifinals, has been named the Tony Saladino Memorial Award winner.
The honor annually goes to the top senior baseball player in Hillsborough County. Former Saladino award winners include major leaguers Tino Martinez, Gary Sheffield and Dave Magadan.
A 6-foot-1, 180-pound right hander, Benincasa signed with Florida State University and also was drafted in the 33rd round this summer by the Toronto Blue Jays.
Benincasa went 12-1 this season with a 1.35 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 83 innings. He helped the Hawks win district and regional crowns on the way to the state final four.
More Baseball
Two Bay area players were named to the All-USA Today baseball team.
Tampa Brooks-DeBartolo outfielder Reggie Williams Jr. was a first team selection after stealing 61 bases. The speedy outfielder hit .604 while being caught stealing just twice all season. A 31st round draft pick by the Texas Rangers, Williams also has a scholarship with the University of Miami.
Tampa Plant shortstop-pitcher Mychal Givens was a second team selection.
Givens, picked 54th overall in the recent MLB player draft by the Baltimore Orioles, hit .375 while also going 8-4 on the mound. Givens helped lead Plant to the Class 5A state final four.
Wrestling: Honors for Brandon
Brandon wrestler Eric Grajales has been named the Florida Dairy Farmers 2009 Wrestler of the Year. It is the second year in a row Grajales has earned the award.
His coach, Russ Cozart, was named Coach of the Year by the organization.
A fixture at Brandon, Cozart has guided the Eagles to state championships for nine straight seasons, including 2009. Cozart, who has been at the school since 1980, has won 20 titles overall.
Grajales, who won four state titles at 135-pounds, finished his senior season 64-0 to cap a 218-0 high school career. Grajales will wrestle collegiately for Michigan.
