Together again: Landolfi brothers bring family affair to Archbishop Williams High football
Family and football.
An alliteration with countless symmetries, the two words blend together effortlessly. It's the perfect combination for brothers Mark, Chris and Matt Landolfi.
“Growing up, I never watched a football game by myself. It was always a big deal with family, friends, relatives. It was chaos, but it was awesome every weekend," said Chris Landolfi, the former head coach at Hanover High. "It just created a lifelong, strong bond between all of us. And, still, we get together and watch games. Everything revolves around football, and that started back then with family.”
That's what makes Archbishop Williams the perfect meeting spot for the two eldest brothers.
In December, the Bishops announced Mark Landolfi as their new head coach and Chris Landolfi as the offensive coordinator. The two Archbishop Williams High alums reunite after a one-year stint in which Chris Landolfi left Hanover to serve as Lawrence Academy's O.C. for his son Michael's senior year as quarterback.
More: State champs and record breakers: South Shore High School Football All-Scholastic Team
“It’s always been a great and special place to me," Mark Landolfi, a 1986 graduate, said of his alma mater. "Having the chance to coach and do some good things here was something I never thought would happen. But, it did. Now, I’m going to seize the moment and the opportunity.”
A rookie head coach, it's now Mark Landolfi's turn to lead a program after 11 years as an offensive/special teams assistant at Hanover – 10 spent under Chris and one under the Hawks' current coach, Brian Kelliher, this past season.
“The roles have reversed," Mark Landolfi, 55, said with a chuckle.
“(Mark) was a really good position coach, but I know he’s going to be a great head coach," said Chris Landolfi, a 1988 graduate. "He’s organized and detail-oriented. His background, he’s diplomatic. He’s got all the skills you need. I think he’s the right guy to bring us to where we need to be as a program.”
In their playing days at Archbishop Williams, Mark was a wide receiver/ linebacker, Chris was a running back/defensive back and Matt (Class of 1990, now the head coach at Duxbury) was a quarterback. The Bishops lost the Division 4 Super Bowl to Holliston in 1985 to end Mark's senior year but bounced back to win it over Westwood in Chris' junior year in 1986.
The two brothers cited their high school coaches – Kevin MacDonald, Stephen Aborn and Greg Burke – as influences in taking over their old high school's football operation after the Bishops' 5-6 campaign this fall.
“The whole community of Archies is what brought us back," Mark Landolfi said. "We just want to have these kids to experience the same thing we experienced: meeting great friends, having coaches that will be friends for life and winning football. We won a lot when we were there. The program was probably one of the best in the state, and we want to get back to that."
Prior to the Landolfi's arrival at Hanover, the program went 2-8 in 2012 and, to Mark Landolfi's recollection, had approximately 35 players enrolled the program. The team rebounded strong the ensuing year and went 7-4 in the brothers' first season on staff in 2013.
Three years later, the team went 12-0 and won the Division 3 Super Bowl.
"As time went on, we really committed ourselves to build a good program there," Mark Landolfi said of Hanover. "We got the youth involved and the school was helpful in getting the program up and running. Now, on a consistent basis, it's between 70-100 kids (playing between junior varsity and varsity) every year. It's a great program. Tough to leave."
Landolfi departed Hanover just days after the team lost in the Division 3 Super Bowl to Foxboro, which marked its first state final appearance since clinching the title in 2016.
A new challenge awaits.
To end last season, the senior-heavy Bishops stopped a four-game losing skid with a pair of wins over East Bridgewater (40-21 win) and Cardinal Spellman (42-14 win). The team has gone 11-16 the past three seasons.
"Winning takes a lot of work. It might take us a while, but we’ll get there," Mark Landolfi said. "It’s something that builds character and something you can build on in life.”
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Landolfi brothers coaching football together at Archbishop Williams
