'Nova coach takes high school post

Mark Reardon wants to spend more time with his family. He also wants to win football games.

Reardon, who has been Villanova's defensive coordinator for the last seven years, believes he can do both as the head coach at St. Augustine Prep in Richland.

"This is a family decision," said Reardon, who has been an assistant under Andy Talley at Villanova for the last 11 years. "From my perspective, the most important thing is raising my kids."

Reardon and his wife, Tiffany, live in Margate with their two children, Molly, 9, and Jack, 6. Reardon said the time and travel demands of a college assistant, especially in the offseason, moved him to seek a more stable lifestyle.

"That's not to say I won't have to work extremely hard to win football games [at St. Augustine]," Reardon said.

The hiring of Reardon underscores St. Augustine's commitment to building the football program into a state power.

"This is clearly the type of guy that you probably don't think you're going to get a shot to hire," St. Augustine Prep athletic director Tony Iaconelli said. "This is a step we wanted to take."

Reardon replaces Iaconelli, who coached St. Augustine on an interim basis for the final four games of the season after Dennis Scuderi resigned on Oct. 20. St. Augustine was 4-6 this season.

Reardon said he still was assembling his staff. But one move that will shake up South Jersey football will be the addition of Holy Spirit coach Chalie Roman as St. Augustine's offensive coordinator.

Roman has built Holy Spirit into a South Jersey power. The Spartans have won state titles the last two seasons.

Reardon and Roman were boyhood friends who attended Holy Spirit together and also were graduate assistants together at Albany.