High School

Mead High School parts ways with football coach Benji Sonnichsen after six seasons

Mead High School has parted ways with football coach Benji Sonnichsen after six seasons, Mead athletic director John Barrington confirmed Thursday.

Andy Buhler, SBLive Sports

Mead High School parts ways with football coach Benji Sonnichsen after six seasons
Mead High School parts ways with football coach Benji Sonnichsen after six seasons /

Mead High School has parted ways with football coach Benji Sonnichsen after six seasons, Mead athletic director John Barrington confirmed Thursday.

The news was first reported by The Spokesman-Review.

“We would like to thank Coach Sonnichsen for his efforts over the last six seasons and for serving our Mead student-athletes and the Mead Panther community,” Barrington told SBLive.

Barrington said he will begin the process to find a new coach soon.

Mead went 36-23 in the Sonnichsen era. The Panthers went 4-3 in the shortened spring 2021 season. In 2019, they went 7-3 and made the GSL/MCC district crossover game. Prior to being hired at Mead, Sonnichsen served as the head coach at Prosser, his alma mater, for six seasons from 2009-2015 and amassed a 58-16 record for a perennial 2A state contender. 

Neither Sonnichsen nor Barrington offered further comment. 

The Mead football team gathers after the Battle of the Bell on April 3. (Photo by Erik Smith)
The Mead football team gathers after the Battle of the Bell on April 3. (Photo by Erik Smith)
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Andy Buhler, SBLive Sports
ANDY BUHLER, SBLIVE SPORTS

Andy Buhler is a Regional Editor of Texas and the national breaking news desk. He brings more than five years of experience covering high school sports across the state of Washington and beyond, where he covered the likes of Paolo Banchero and Tari Eason served on state tournament seeding committees. He works on the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 national boys basketball rankings. He has covered everything from the Final Four, MLS in Atlanta to local velodrome before diving into the world of preps. His bylines can be found in The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), The Associated Press, The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington), The Oregonian and more. He holds a degree from Gonzaga and is based out of Portland, Oregon.

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