Former Hammonton football coach Pete Lancetta takes over at St. Augustine
Lancetta, 55, spent 26 seasons as the head coach of the Blue Devils. He joins a South Jersey power.
It was an earthshaking move likely to surprise many people on the South Jersey football scene.
Pete Lancetta knows how they feel.
"I'm still overwhelmed," Lancetta said of his new job.
On Wednesday, Lancetta was named the head football coach at St. Augustine Prep.
Lancetta, 55, said he plans to retire from teaching at Hammonton High School at the end of this school year and join the St. Augustine faculty, a startling change in the latter stage of his illustrious career.
"It's the timing more than anything," Lancetta said. "I just turned 55, so I can retire after 28 years in public-school education. I was looking around at some other possible options and this just seemed like an interesting possibility.
"It happened fast. It happened so fast I'm still getting used to it."
The hiring of Lancetta, one of the most successful and highly respected coaches in South Jersey history, provides instant stability to a St. Augustine Prep program that has been rocked in recent weeks by the abrupt departures of head coach Mark Reardon and his top assistant, Chalie Roman.
Lancetta spent 26 seasons from 1989-2014 as the head coach at Hammonton. His teams went 215-65-1 and captured four sectional crowns and the Blue Devils were universally regarded as one of the top programs in South Jersey.
Lancetta spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Rowan University.
"We are fortunate to have a coach of his caliber and we are confident he and his staff will continue the upward trajectory of the St. Augustine Prep football program," Hermits athletic director Mike Rizzo said in a statement. "This is a great day . . ."
Reardon resigned earlier this month after five seasons as St. Augustine's coach. Roman resigned a week earlier, surfacing as an assistant coach at Holy Spirit.
Reardon's teams were 42-9 and dominated South Jersey competition in recent seasons. The Hermits currently have a 25-game winning streak against South Jersey teams.
"They've been a really good team and they have a lot of good players back," Lancetta said. "I'm excited to get started, excited by the challenge."
Lancetta's teams at Hammonton were renowned for their conditioning, strength, toughness, and execution.
The coach was regarded as a great motivator whose athletes played with great enthusiasm and displayed deep commitment to the program.
Hammonton under Lancetta also was a team known for precise execution of a Wing-T style offense with heavy emphasis on a strong ground game.
But Lancetta said the Hermits' offense is likely to be a lot more diversified than his old Blue Devils' offense.
"Two years at Rowan really expanded by offensive knowledge," Lancetta said. "We weren't running the Wing-T there."
Lancetta said he's "still working" on assembling his coaching staff. "My phone's been ringing off the hook," Lancetta said. "I'm going to have some great choices."
Lancetta is a graduate of St. Joseph of Hammonton. During his time at Hammonton, the Blue Devils and Wildcats played every season on Thanksgiving weekend in one of South Jersey football's best rivalries.
That series ended when Hammonton joined the Tri-County Conference before the 2014 season.
St. Augustine and St. Joseph are scheduled to play this season. St. Augustine also is scheduled to play Holy Spirit in a game that might be held at Rutgers University.
"We have a great, challenging schedule," Lancetta said. "I'm looking forward to it."
@PhilAnastasia