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10/20/2016 12:00 AMMatt Rademacher began playing football in North Haven’s youth program when he was in 7th grade and, around that time, he also started watching the high school team play under the lights at Vanacore Field. Matt saw the Indians win plenty of games on Friday nights, while making an impact in their community year-round, and knew that he wanted to wear the maroon as a North Haven varsity football player. Matt got his first taste of the big stage last fall and now he’s a key contributor on the offensive and defensive lines who Coach Anthony Sagnella praises for the intensity that he brings to both practice and game day.
“I really wanted the pride of being a North Haven football player,” says Matt. “I always saw them as being some of the best people in the community and always wanted to be a part of that group. I saw some of the best student-athletes and hardest workers and wanted to be one of them.”
Matt admits that he “wasn’t very good” when he first hit the gridiron and felt unsure if he’d ever realize his goal of playing varsity. Matt says that his turning point came last year, when he started working harder and training with the team several days a week during the summer.
“People talk about how football is a year-round sport and, for my first few years, I didn’t put in as much offseason work as I should have. But by junior and senior year, I tried to put in as much as I could and lift year-round,” Matt says. “I didn’t enjoy it all the time, but I realized that I needed to do it and, if I wasn’t going to, then I shouldn’t be playing the sport.”
Matt says he gained confidence from contributing to last year’s big victory versus Notre Dame-West Haven that sent the Indians on a path to an unbeaten regular season, plus the team’s first appearance in a state final. Matt entered this season aiming to start on the offensive line and he wound up earning that spot at the guard position. North Haven features a whole new cast of characters on its O-line this year, but the team has continued its tradition of successfully running the ball with Matt playing a prominent role.
“I really tried to not feel like I’d arrived at the start of the year, but the one time I allowed myself to realize where I was came in the first game of the season,” says Matt, who’s also now a regular on the defensive front after switching from linebacker. “As I walked on the field, I realized that I had accomplished my goal, which was to start and, for the first drive, I thought about that the entire time and played the best I could, knowing that I had finally accomplished my goal that I’d wanted for a long time. That was a great feeling being with all the guys in the huddle and I couldn’t believe that I was really there.”
Matt, who also competes for North Haven’s fencing program, has a pleasant disposition about him, although he isn’t afraid to throw down on the line come game time, saying that “it’s the greatest feeling in the world when you knock someone over.” At 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, Matt might not be the biggest lineman in the SCC, but he compensates for that constantly going as hard as he can, while also paying attention to the little details that often prove huge between the hash marks.
Coach Sagnella says that Matt used a combination of brains and brawn to solidify his spot as a varsity starter this year.
“Having to rebuild our entire offensive line, Matt came back with some experience and I felt it was important for someone to step forward and demonstrate how it has to be. Matt was one of the first people to do that on the offensive side of the ball, which was a huge help for some of the lesser-experienced guys to point to,” Sagnella says. “Matt brings a fire to practice, a fire to drill work, and a fire to game day. He plays emotionally, passionately, and is an aggressive blocker from whistle to whistle. He’s also an intelligent athlete who studies and learns the techniques at his positions and quickly picks stuff up.”
Matt thanks former North Haven linemen Anthony Valentino and Mike Masnato for being role models who stressed the importance of hard work, along with current lineman Bryan Searles for pushing him to get better. It’s teammates like these who make Matt appreciate that he’s a member of the North Haven football family.
“It feels awesome to be here and play with the best group of guys. They’re all my best friends. We’re very close and every time out there is great because of how they get after it and how great our coaching is,” he says. “That’s what makes me love football, makes the games great, and makes achieving my goal of becoming a starter feel so great.”