The St. Louis Catholic football program found its new leader.

The school announced Tuesday morning the hiring of Brock Matherne to succeed Chad Lavergne as head coach.

“I am excited,” Matherne said. “I think this is a special place. I think it was a right fit for me and my family.

“They support each other around here and I really think we can do some special things if they trust the process and buy in.”

Lavergne led the Saints for three seasons, taking them to the quarterfinals in 2018 and the semifinals in 2019 for the first time since 1979. He stepped down after the Saints went 2-6 in 2020 during a trying season that included the coronavirus pandemic and damage from a pair of hurricanes.

Matherne spent the 2020 season as the defensive backs coach at Cecilia with designs to one day take over a program. The Bulldogs went 7-2.

“That is a special place,” Matherne said of Cecilia. “We had a lot of success, and it was a hard place to leave.

“I have the utmost respect for the coaches over there and how they run things, and we are going to do things similar over here. I came to Cecilia to be around of some mentors of mine to become a head coach, and that led me to where I am now.”

As a starting strong safety in high school, Matherne, along with his older brother and quarterback Blake Matherne, the 2008 Louisiana Mr. Football, helped lead Belle Chasse to the 2008 Class 4A state championship. Matherne said winning that title is what started him on the path to becoming a coach.

Matherne got into coaching in 2012 at South Lafourche where he was the defensive backs coach for three seasons. He spent one season (2017) as a defensive backs coach at John Ehret followed by four seasons at his alma mater, spending three seasons as defensive coordinator.

Matherne is one of five new head football coaches in Southwest Louisiana, including Jules Sullen at Washington-Marion, Chad Davis at Sam Houston, Marcus Lejeune at Elton and Jared Underwood at Pickering.