08/31/2026
Dear Husky Family,
A giant has left us.
The Matawan Football Alumni Foundation mourns the passing of Coach Barry Rizzo at age 94.
24 seasons on the Matawan sideline, 26 years in the school’s athletic program, and a lifetime in the hearts of every athlete who ever wore the Husky uniform.
A master of the single-wing offense, Coach Rizzo built Matawan into a Shore Conference power and finished with a career record of 147-61-9. He brought home three state championships: the 1958 Central Jersey Group II title, the 1973 Central Jersey Group III title, and the 1975 Group IV crown, in only the second year of the state playoff system. His teams won eight division titles. In his final season, 1979, the Huskies reached the Group IV finals.
He was inducted into the Shore Football Coaches Foundation Hall of Fame in 2009, and the home he built for Husky football carries his name: Barry Rizzo Stadium.
He coached legends.
Jim Jeffcoat, Class of ’79, a high school All-American who went on to Arizona State, became a first-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys, played 15 NFL seasons, recorded 102.5 sacks, and won a Super Bowl XXVII ring.
Kenny Mandeville. Randy Davis. Purvis Peeler, the back who powered that 1958 championship run.
And Joe Martucci, an all-state linebacker for Coach in 1968, who came home to serve 11 seasons on his staff before becoming the winningest coach in school history.
That’s the real measure of Coach Barry Rizzo: his players kept coming back.
But the wins on the field were never the point.
When he stepped down in 1979, the local paper wrote that, despite all the powerhouse teams, Rizzo never lost sight of the whole student, their academics, their character, and their life off the field.
Every Husky who played for him knew that.
He preached accountability, toughness, and doing things the right way and then he lived it in front of us, every single day, for a quarter century.
He didn’t just coach boys. He taught them how to be men.
A big part of Husky lore has gone to the great stadium in the sky.
Our deepest condolences go out to the Rizzo family, his friends, and all of his former players.
A Memorial Visitation will be held Thursday, Sept. 10 from 4-7 p.m. at Thompson Memorial Home, 310 Broad St., Red Bank, N.J. 07701. The funeral service will be held Saturday, Sept. 12 at 11 a.m. at St. John's Episcopal Church, 325 Little Silver Point Rd., Little Silver, N.J. 07739. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. John’s Outreach Fund, 325 Little Silver Point Road, Little Silver, NJ 07739 or the Matawan Football Alumni Foundation
In the days ahead, we’ll share more stories, memories, and moments from Coach Rizzo’s remarkable legacy at Matawan. For now, we simply remember a man who gave so much to Husky football and to the young men he coached.
Once a Husky, always a Husky.
Rest easy, Coach.
Your boys will take it from here. 🙏
