Charlotte Catholic football has another new coach, but going back to same old offense

For nearly 50 years, Charlotte Catholic’s high school football team had two head coaches, the late Jim Oddo and Mike Brodowicz. They were two of the most successful in Mecklenburg County history.

Wednesday, when the 2024 high school football season officially starts, the Cougars will officially debut their second new coach in as many seasons.

“I think this is the best job in the city,” Keith Emery said, “and it was something I eagerly applied for once it became open.”

Emery, 52, will now lead one of North Carolina’s premier programs. Charlotte Catholic has won eight state championships and hasn’t had a losing season since 1999.

Speaking at the Southwestern 4A media day Monday afternoon at Rocky River High School, Emery said he also plans to bring the Cougars back to the run-first identity that has long defined the program.

A year ago, under former coach Matthew Reilly, Charlotte Catholic threw for 1,684 yards and ran for 1,803. But in 2018, when the Cougars were in the midst of winning four straight state championships, they threw for 1,761 yards and ran for 3,753.

Catholic hasn’t had a season with double-digit wins since going 12-3 in 2019. To get back there, Emery said the plan is simple: run, baby, run.

“Everybody watches film,” he said. “What can this team do against this type of competition? Run the Wing-T (offense) and do things no one else does. We want to be different. We’re not going to go out and run the spread and compete against the Independences and Butlers of the world. How are we going to compete running what everybody else runs?”

Why back to high school?

Emery was most recently director of high school relations under Biff Poggi, working for the Charlotte 49ers. Emery also coached in college at Presbyterian as an assistant and was head coach at NCAA Division III Western New England University in Massachusetts for 13 years.

Emery led Western New England to three straight conference titles and the most wins in school history (86-49). Emery was named coach of the year five times while there and was a two-time New England Football Writers D2/D3 coach of the year.

So why Charlotte Catholic now?

“Being at Charlotte (49ers) was great,” Emery said, “but I wanted to get back on the field (his job at Charlotte was mainly administrative). I wanted to coach kids. You just don’t have that opportunity in (a high school) relations (job in college). It’s just not the same. This game is about the kids and the reason this profession chose me was teaching kids through the game of football how to matriculate through life.”

Good early impression

Charlotte Catholic quarterback Charlie Smith said his team’s preparation has been a lot different in the off-season compared to a year ago, under Reilly.

He thinks the Cougars are much more ready to be a factor in the Southwestern 4A conference and in the NCHSAA 4A playoffs.

“He brings a lot to the table,” Smith said of Emery. “But it doesn’t change for us. We’ve been through a lot of adversity. I feel like we’re way more prepared for the season. Coach Reilly was a great people person for all of us, but I think we’ll be really prepared and I’m excited for what we have this year.”

The decision to return to the run-heavy offense, lineman Thomas Wakefield said, has gotten the team excited.

“I think we’ve got the potential to be one of the best (offensive) lines in the state of North Carolina,” he said. “I think that’s just what we have to do. At Charlotte Catholic, that’s our football. We run the ball at you. We’re coming downhill and not a lot of teams want to play like that for four quarters.”

‘This is my last job’

Emery has been an assistant coach in Charlotte high school football before, so he knows what to expect, having coached at Myers Park and national power Providence Day.

His Cougars’ team is gearing up to play in one of the toughest conferences in the state, and will open with rival South Mecklenburg Aug. 23.

South Mecklenburg’s campus is literally across the street from Catholic’s.

The game plan for the Sabres is already pretty much established. When Catholic was rolling, there wasn’t much secret about what the Cougars were going to try to do.

Emery’s mission? Make it that way again.

“We’re going to do what we do best,” he said. “We’re going to run the ball, play-action pass, and continue to do that and do that well. These kids walk into the locker room and there’s four state championship banners staring them in the face They know what’s expected of them and they’re willing to buy into that and embrace that pressure as well.”

Emery compares coaching at Catholic to coaching at D3 college, and that appeals to him. And he hopes to be a Cougar for a very long time, like Oddo and Brodowicz were before him.

“I was itching to get back, to get back into that coaching fold again,” he said. “It’s been hard. But I’m locked, man. My wife has an excellent job in the city, so we’re here. Our family is entrenched here. I’ll be here for awhile.

“Really, this is my last job. I’m here until they fire me.”