Sports: High school football coach has profound reason to celebrate.
St. Francis defensive coordinator Scharrenberg, months after his cancer goes into remission, celebrates a very rare moment against De La Salle
MOUNTAIN VIEW >> You couldn’t help noticing the St. Francis coach in the yellow shirt celebrating the epic victory over De La Salle.
Matt Scharrenberg is the team’s defensive coordinator. During the abbreviated season last spring, he could not coach after being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
He returned this season after announcing in May that his illness had gone into remission.
“I was determined to live,” Scharrenberg said Friday night after the Lancers ended De La Salle’s 30-year unbeaten streak against regional opponents with a 31-28 victory. “I was determined to become a father again, get back to my family, and coaching is part of the education, part of the ministry we do here at St. Francis.
“Those guys were never far from me. We tried to FaceTime. They texted me, the juniors that meant something to me. But this is where I belong, at this school, doing this job, invoking God to these kids.”
Scharrenberg is as much a part of St. Francis as Greg Calcagno. Matt played football and basketball for the school in
“I was determined to live.” — Matt Scharrenberg, St. Francis defensive coordinator
the mid-1990s, during the program’s dominance of the Central Coast Section in football and its most memorable victory in basketball.
He won a state basketball championship in 1995, his senior season, part of a squad that beat a Dominguez of Compton team that included future NBA star Tayshaun Prince.
Decades later, Scharrenberg was leading the defense for his brother-in-law, head coach Greg Calcagno, when St. Francis won a state championship in football.
“I’ve known him since he was 3 years old,” said Calcagno, who married Scharrenberg’s older sister, Ann. “It’s great to have him back with us. He does a fantastic job. He’s great for me and for our entire program. He works his tail off. Tonight is pretty special that that work paid off.”
On the ride home from his school’s loss at Pittsburg, Matt’s older brother, Eric, the vice president of athletics and former defensive coordinator at Valley Christian, was following along on Twitter. Eric and his family live across the street from Matt and his family.
The families got together Saturday to celebrate.
Eric said he had two reactions when the final score flashed. He was proud of and happy for his brother.
“He does things the right way,” Eric said. “This was tough, not just for Matthew, but for his whole family -- his wife, Heidi, and just watching all that she did keeping the family moving forward. It was a special moment for Matthew’s whole family and Greg’s whole family and our extended family. It was just one of those moments that was extra special.”
When the game ended, Matt made sure to soak it all in.
“This is up there,” he said. “We’re going to celebrate. Nice to have a bye week. I know the rest of Northern California is going to be licking their chops. What can that team do? Not to look too far ahead, but Nov. 6 or whatever, when we go up to San Mateo (to play Serra), that’s going to be a big game.
“But for our guys, for this moment, for our community, indescribable emotion and what it means for all the kids.”