New Charlotte Catholic coach wants to put his imprint on NC traditional power
In December, when Charlotte Catholic approved his hiring as the school’s third head football coach in 50 years, 32-year-old Matthew Reilly said he was excited.
Then, he said, he was numb.
“The night the school approved it, we went and celebrated a little bit,” Reilly said. “I was walking out and I was like, ‘Holy cow! What’s happening now?’ My phone started ringing. I’ve never been more popular with cellphone calls.”
Reilly was given the reins to one of the biggest high school football dynasties in North Carolina history. He replaces Mike Brodowicz, who led the Cougars to five state championships in nine years. Reilly was Brodowicz’s offensive coordinator last season.
A few years before that, Brodowicz named Reilly as the school’s head junior varsity coach. He said he saw something special in the young coach. Reilly was 25-0 in three seasons on jayvee, and last season, he was primarily responsible for the new shotgun-style offense Catholic employed.
Since Jim Oddo came to the school in 1973 as head coach, Catholic has favored a Wing-T style, run-heavy offense.
“He’s a really creative offensive mind,” Brodowicz said of Reilly. “He’s got to fill in a couple of defensive coaches, and I’m going to be around to mentor. I’ll be behind the scenes helping out anyway I can.”
Brodowicz will continue in his role as assistant principal at Holy Trinity, Charlotte Catholic’s feeder middle school, and he leaves the varsity team at the same time as Catholic athletic director Kevin Christmas, who has been with the school and program for 28 years.
This season, Reilly will return 10 of 11 defensive starters and at least seven on offense, including junior tight end Jack Larsen, a Notre Dame commit who is the No. 30 recruit at his position nationally, according to 247 Sports.
“I’ve got all the faith in (Reilly) to take over the program,” Larsen said. “He’s special and he’s been in the program and he knows how to lead the team. It was a bit of a shock when Brodowicz left. I love Brodowicz. He did so much for me, a lot of lessons learned, but if anyone is going to take over the program, I think Reilly is capable of it.”
Reilly will take over a program where winning is the expectation.
Three years ago, Brodowicz was named Charlotte Observer coach of the decade. In his nine-year career, Catholic was 110-15 with six state finals appearances and the five championships. Until the fall 2021 season, the Cougars never failed to get past the first round of the playoffs under Brodowicz.
A move from 3A to the 4A class slowed the Cougars’ momentum. Catholic was 7-3 and 9-3 the past two seasons, playing in the state’s largest and most competitive class. With just over 1,100 students, Catholic is one of the smaller schools in the class.
“The talent-level and depth of teams like Hough, Reagan and Grimsley is tough,” Brodowicz said. “They went 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 at receiver and they’re good and they two-platoon. It’s hard to match up with that. But we’ve had a lot of success here. And I think Coach Reilly will be able to keep that going.”
Reilly will start his ninth year at Charlotte Catholic this fall. He grew up in the Cincinnati area and went to a high school, St. Xavier, that he said was similar to Catholic in terms of having large community support. He moved to the Charlotte area after graduating from college because he had family here. He got a job as a math teacher at Catholic and never left.
Now he gets to put his imprint on one of the biggest high school football brands the state has to offer.
“When I was in high school, my senior I was scout team QB,” Reilly said, “and I kind of always had the quarterback mindset. I do like throwing the ball. There’s nothing like hitting the big pass over the top. But being here and working the Wing T (run-first offense) as a running back coach for six years, I also learned a whole lot about the run game and the value in that, and being able to control the clock, stay ahead of the chains and slowly and methodically wear that defense out.
“So I can’t say I’ll give it up completely, but I think a little bit of the passing game will be in there.”
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This story was originally published August 2, 2023 at 6:30 AM.
