NORTH TONAWANDA — North Tonawanda is seeking a new varsity football coach — again.
Ben Bunker announced on social media Wednesday that he would not be renewed by North Tonawanda athletic director Matt Cook after three seasons as head coach, stating it was due to lack of “care” and “support” for the program.
“Anybody that knows me, knows that could not be farther from the truth,” Bunker wrote. “And I’ve sacrificed time away from family to be with these student-athletes throughout a year round program, all while navigating the first year of being a parent. I guess I did not show my care for a group I considered my second family well enough.”
Bunker, who is not a teacher in the district, went 5-23 — averaging 18.1 points per game — after taking the job in 2021, including a 2-7 record last season, with junior running back Christian Earnst scoring 16 touchdowns and becoming the first Lumberjack to surpass 1,000 yards rushing in a season since Chris Woodard in 2014.
The Lumberjacks have finished .500 or better once since 2016, a 3-3 mark during the COVID-19-abbreviated season in which Bunker served as the offensive coordinator under then-coach Rick Tomm.
North Tonawanda will be looking for its eighth head coach since Eric Jantzi stepped down following the 2010 season.
Like Bunker, Cook declined to speak at length about the decision, calling it a “personnel decision.” Cook, who has served as NT’s athletic director since January 2019, also had to fill the varsity boys basketball position after longtime coach Ryan Mountain resigned days before the season began.
“All I can say is this was a personnel decision and I felt it was time for a different direction with the program,” Cook said in a phone call with the Gazette.
A 2009 graduate of the school, Bunker was an offensive lineman on NT’s 2008 team that advanced to the Section VI Class AA championship before falling to Orchard Park to finish with a 9-1 record. The run to Highmark Stadium preceded the school’s lone state championship the following year.
“Serving as the head of the North Tonawanda football program for the past three years has been an honor,” Bunker said. “It has been a great opportunity and I’m very pleased to have been a part of a growth phase of the program and will always give my support to a program that gave so much to me.”