- October 22, 2024
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Eight games into his fifth season with Matanzas, Matt Forrest became the Pirates’ all-time winningest football coach.
With a 35-24 victory at Belleview on Oct. 17, Forrest won his 25th game with the Pirates, breaking a tie at 24 with Keith Lagocki, the school’s first football coach who led Matanzas for seven varsity seasons from 2006 to 2012.
“I’m grateful to the administration that hired me, and the administration that is here now, their work and support, the coaches’ work and support and the players’ work and support,” Forrest said. “The work that everybody put in got us here. It’s really been fun, and hopefully we’ll get many more of these wins.”
The victory evened the Pirates' record this season at 4-4 and put Forrest one game over .500 with an overall record of 25-24.
The Pirates rushed for 239 yards against the Rattlers (0-6) with sophomore Shi Scottt rushing for 88 yards in his first varsity game and freshman James Peterson rushing for 59 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, Cooper May had a team-high 12 tackles, and Omar Steward had four of the Pirates’ 14 tackles for loss.
Athletic director Jordan Butler presented Forrest with the game ball after the victory.
“We’re very proud of everything he’s accomplished here,” Butler said this week. “But the character he develops in these young men is far more important than the wins. The wins are a by-product of everything he does for these young men. When building better people is the priority, the wins will take care of themselves.”
The Pirates are a young team, but they’ve made progress every week, Forrest said.
“We feel like we’re improving day in and day out,” he said. “Our goal is to play meaningful football at the end of October, and we’ve been doing that for five years.”
Matanzas, ranked ninth in Region 1-5A, is in the hunt for one of the eight playoff spots in the region. A win at home against Menendez (4-4) on senior night, Friday, Oct. 25, would keep those playoff hopes alive.
The Pirates end the regular season at Flagler Palm Coast on Nov. 1 in the annual Potato Bowl game.
