coaches.
of shanley football
Troy Mattern
2017-
Troy Mattern was already an accomplished football coach with a 58-21 record and two North Dakota
Class 3A state championships when he took the Fargo Shanley football coaching job. He began his
tenure at Sid Cichy stadium in 2017. His primary mission was to restore Shanle's status as the best football program in the state. To achieve this, Mattern knew he had to instill belief in the Shanley
community that they could compete at the highest level in North Dakota.
During his first two years at Shanley, Mattern impressively compiled a 21-1 record. Under his guidance,
the Deacons reached two state title games and clinched a State Championship in 2018. With this
momentum, Mattern aimed even higher. In 2019, he spearheaded the move to elevate Shanley to the
highest classification in North Dakota, even though this meant competing against schools that were 4 or 5 times larger. His leadership paid off, in 2022, Shanley won a State Championship at the highest level,
followed up with a Dakota Bowl appearance in 2023, falling on a last second field goal to Minot High
School 38-35.
Prior to Shanley, Coach Mattern spent 13 seasons as a member of the Fargo South coaching staff, the
last 7 years as Head Coach. During his time as Head Coach, Coach Mattern led the Bruins to the 2010
and 2013 State Championship.
Coach Mattern and his wife Jamie have four children, Cooper, and Lydia, Shanley graduates in 2021, Jax
who will be a Junior at Shanley and Ily, who will be an 8 th grader at Sacred Heart.
The Mattern File:
Entering 26 th Season
1999 to 2003: Assistant Coach, Richfield High School, MN
2004 to 2009: Assistant Coach, Fargo South High School
2010 to 2016: Head Coach, Fargo South High School
2017- Head Coach, Fargo Shanley High School
Head Coaching Record: 116-37
Head Coaching Record at Shanley: 58-16
20 Years Coaching in North Dakota, 12 Dakota Bowl Appearances, 7 State Titles
EDC Coach of the Year: 2012, 2013, 2018, 2023
North Dakota Coach of the Year: 2012, 2017 and 2022
Montana/North Dakota Badlands All Star Game Head Coach: 2011 and 2019
North Dakota Shrine Game Head Coach: 2011, 2017 and 2021
National Federation Midwest Coach of the Year (Section 5) 2023
Rod Oksendahl
2011-2016
The long storied football coaching career of Rod Oksendahl included a six year stint at the Shanley helm, winning 56 gams. Oksendahl guided Shanley to a North Dakota Class 2A state title in 2012
Steve Laqua
2007-2010
Shanley combined to go 3-16 in Laqua's first two seasons. The Deacons moved from Class 3A to Class 2A in 2009 and had a record of 22-2 en route to titles the last two years.
Dale Hammerschmidt
2004-2006
Dale Hammerschmidt was nearly ready to abandon his dream of being a head high school football coach. Then Fargo Shanley called. "The more we talked, the more I liked it," Hammerschmidt said. I wasn't looking, but it's always been a dream of mine to be a head high school football coach." Hammerschmidt, who played football for the Bison from 1980-1984 lead the Shanley Deacons from 2004-2006 and won 5 games in his brief stint.
Kevin Feeney
1999-2003
The former Bison quarterback was set to join the NDSU staff as a graduate assistant in 1999 when he was approached by Sid Cichy, the legendary Fargo Shanley football coach. "Coach Cichy approached me about the Shanley job. We talked in his car right after I had just finished football practice. I still had my pads on" And so it was. Feeney coached the Deacons for five years and won 15 football games. In his last season he lead the Deacons to the EDC playoffs and was named EDC Coach of the year.
Tom Eldred
1987-1998
A Shanley graduate, having played Football for Sid Cichy from 1971-74, Eldred replaced Bruce Larson as head coach in 1987. Eldred ended his run at Shanley as the second longest tenured football coach and a victory total of 49. Famed Shanley Alumnus Angie Welle had this to say upon Eldred's departure. "My only regret is that I didn't get to play football, then I would have gotten to play for Coach Eldred."
Bruce Larson
1978-1986
Bruce Larson led the Shanley football program for nine years, winning 67 games and a 71% winning percentage. Second only to Sid Cichy. Larson's teams reach the state finals three times, winning state titles twice, in 1981 and 1983.
Sid Cichy
1948-1977
A Shanley graduate who played for Cichy in 1964 summed up the coaching legend, who won 229 games and 19 North Dakota high school state titles.
"We just had so much dedication for what he stood for," "If he told us the sun wasn't going to come up tomorrow, we would buy flashlights."
Leo Lacher
1947
Leo Lacher coached a single season. The Deacons had their best year in Class A competition winning 2, losing 1, and tying 1
Jerry Moriarty
1945-1946
“Jerry” Moriarty gathered the boys together on September 1, 1945 for
his first practice as head coach. There were nine returning lettermen to bolster up the squad. After a grueling practice for two weeks, they played their first game on September 14, against their old rivals—Fargo Hi Midgets.
Ted Campagna
1943-1944
Alumnus of Mayville Teachers College and St. Mary’s High School of Bismarck, and also the present sportscaster for WDAY. “Ted” with his new squad and new is really the word for it. With only one veteran to count on and a score of green but ambitious underclassmen, he began practice September 8. After the team drilled for a week, the season was started with a 27-0 win for Fargo High (Class A Champs), with the Midgets receiving two very cheap touchdowns.
John Callahan
1940-1941
Winning seven out of nine games, the Sacred Heart football team, under a new coach and new system, chalked up its second consecutive N. D. Class B Championship.
With a week's practice under their belts, Coach Callahan, a former St. John's athlete, tried out the Notre Dame system of a T formation against a strong St. Cloud Cathedral team—the score 18-0 for the St. Clouders.
Howard Ruegamer
1934-1939
Organized Athletics began at Sacred Heart Academy in the fall of 1934, when, through the intercession of Fathers Shannon and Ryan, Howard Ruegamer was secured as coach. At that time a number of uniforms was purchased from Jamestown. No games were scheduled how-
ever, and the time was used in drilling the players in the fundamentals of the game and preparing them for the coming seasons.