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Phil Annarella coached at Austintown Fitch and Niles
By Brian Dzenis
and DAN HINER
NILES
The death of Phil Annarella, longtime Mahoning Valley football coach, will be a huge loss for the community, said colleagues, players and friends.
Annarella was 70 years old.
Annarella has been coaching since 1976 with stops at East Liverpool, The Rayen School, Warren Western Reserve, Warren Harding, Hickory (Pa.), Niles and his most recent job at Austintown Fitch. He has been the Falcons’ head coach since 2007.
Jim Penk, Fitch athletic director, told The Vindicator school officials had been unable to reach him for “a few days.”
When he did not show up to a Special Olympics event in Austintown on Saturday – where he and his players were volunteering – officials notified a family member to check on him. The family member discovered his body at his Niles home.
“It’s a tough loss for the entire Austintown and Warren communities as well as his family,” Penk said.
The Trumbull County Coroner’s Office is investigating the circumstances of his death, and there were no indications of anything suspicious from responding personnel, Niles police Capt. John Marshall said.
Penk said the players volunteering at the Special Olympics were summoned to a nearby locker room and were notified about their coach’s death. Grief counselors will be at the high school Monday.
Billy Price, Cincinnati Bengals center and former Fitch and Ohio State lineman, spoke to Annarella last week about attending Price’s wedding. He said the news “hit my family and former teammates hard.”
“[It’s a] tragic loss for the Austintown community,” Price said. “He made many boys into men and built confidence in many of us. There will always be a special place for coach in this community’s memory.”
Annarella was 246-146-3 in his coaching career. When Warren Western Reserve merged with Warren Harding in 1990, Annarella coached the newly merged football team made of former rivals to a state title. Warren Harding did not make the playoffs since that season until 2001, during future Ohio State standout Maurice Clarett’s senior season.
Annarella also coached some of the Valley’s greatest offensive lineman. In addition to Price, Annarella coached the late Korey Stringer and Leshun Daniels Sr. – two Warren Harding graduates who played at OSU and in the NFL. Former Fitch running back Darrin Hall is another Annarella alum in the NFL as a teammate of Price.