Matty Jacowleff
ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH, OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR, WIDE RECEIVERS, DEFENSIVE BACKS, HEAD JV COACH
Coach Matty Jacowleff serves as the Associate Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator at Staples High School, where he is directly responsible for coaching the Wide Receivers and Defensive Backs. A highly accomplished coach, Coach Matty was named the FCIAC Assistant Coach of the Year in 2022 and has earned three State Championships throughout his coaching career.
Under his guidance, the Wrecker Wide Receivers have rewritten the record books. In 2021 and 2022, the team set new records for the most receiving yards and touchdowns in a single season. In both 2022 and 2023, Staples led the FCIAC in receiving yards, with the Wreckers also finishing #1 in the state for receiving yards in 2022.
Coach Matty's defensive backfield had a historic 2023 season, with the Wrecker Defensive Backs allowing just a 49% completion percentage. Opposing offenses averaged only 131 passing yards per game and scored only 10 touchdowns against a state-leading 21 interceptions. Over the past four seasons, the Wreckers have scored 100 touchdowns through the air while allowing just 33 passing touchdowns and recording 61 interceptions—the most in the state over the four-year span.
Coach Matty has mentored multiple Staples Football Wide Receiver and Defensive Back alumni, who are currently playing for Division I FBS programs at Syracuse University, Wake Forest University, University of Michigan, Fordham University, and the University of Delaware.
A number of individual receiving records have been set under Coach Matty’s tutelage:
Top four receiving yards in a season: Tyler Clark (2022), Shane Sandrew (2024), James Hillhouse (2022), Nick Armentano (2021)
Top three receptions in a season: Tyler Clark (2022), Shane Sandrew (2024), James Hillhouse (2022)
Single-season receptions leader: Tyler Clark (80, most in New England in 2022); Shane Sandrew (80, third most in New England in 2024)
Career receiving yards: Nick Armentano (2021), Tyler Clark (2022)
Career receptions: Nick Armentano (2021), Tyler Clark (2022), Shane Sandrew (2024)
Most catches in a single game: Tyler Clark (2022) and Shane Sandrew (2024)
In the past four seasons, 24 WR/DB players have earned All-FCIAC honors under Coach Matty's leadership. In 2024, Shane Sandrew was named to the All-State First Team as a Wide Receiver, and in 2023, Safeties Sam Petrosino and Max Maurillo were selected to the Connecticut All-State Team. Additionally, in 2022, Staples Football made history with two WRs, Tyler Clark and James Hillhouse, named to the Walter Camp Connecticut Team—the first time in the award's history that two players from the same team earned this honor.
Coach Matty is also committed to developing well-rounded student-athletes and leaders. Over the past five years, five Staples Football graduates have gone on to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point. Outside of football, Coach Matty is a Varsity coach with the back-to-back State Champion Staples Lacrosse Program.
A proud alumnus of Staples High School, Coach Matty was the Captain of the 2014 football team and played linebacker for the Wreckers. After high school, he earned a Business degree from Northeastern University and a Master’s in Education from Fairfield University. He currently resides in Westport, teaches at Staples High School, and is the proud owner of his English Bulldog, Blitz.