BEVERLY — Endicott football head coach Paul McGonagle has announced changes to his coaching staff for the upcoming 2022 season.
Matthew Popino, who currently serves as the program’s defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach, has been officially promoted to assistant head coach.
Popino will continue to coach his position groups along with assisting McGonagle in all other aspects of the program.
Meanwhile, Luke Bakanowsky (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks), Casey McDonnell ’14 M’15 (offensive line), TJ Lesniewski (linebackers), Tyler Alicudo (wide receivers), and Mehdi Squalli ’21 M’23 (defensive line) are new additions to this year’s staff.
MEET THE ENDICOTT COACHING STAFF
MATTHEW POPINO | ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR/DEFENSIVE BACKS
Matthew Popino enters his fourth season with the Endicott football program in 2022. Popino was officially promoted to Assistant Head Coach in August 2022.
The 2021 campaign marked Popino’s first season as the program’s defensive coordinator after being promoted from linebackers coach (2019-20) and special teams coordinator (2020) during his time at The Nest.
Last season (11 games), Popino’s defense allowed 19.5 points per game, led the conference in tackles per game (76.0), tied for the league lead in takeaways (24), and paced the rest of the conference in sacks (30).
In 2019, Popino aided Endicott in receiving No. 1 conference rankings in points per game allowed (18.4), points allowed (202), interceptions (18), defensive touchdowns (2), and blocked kicks (9). The Gulls were the only team in the conference to allow less than 20.0 points per game and the only team to give up 210 points or less.
Nationally, Endicott ranked No. 2 in blocked kicks, No. 15 in blocked punts, No. 9 in interceptions, No. 65 in red zone defense, No. 42 in scoring defense, No. 41 in team passing efficiency defense (110.07), No. 21 in turnover margin (1.00), and No. 25 in turnovers gained (25).
Popino joined the Endicott coaching staff after a three-year stint at Rutgers University. While at Rutgers, he rapidly rose through the coaching ranks of the program serving in four different positions (defensive intern, player development, defensive quality control – linebackers, defensive line graduate assistant) during his time in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
In his role as the defensive quality control – linebackers coach, Popino assisted the linebackers coach in weekly game planning, scouting reports, scripting practices, and recruiting. He also assisted the defense in weekly breakdowns, charting plays, and drawing cards while creating reports with Pro Football Focus to find opponent tendencies.
Meanwhile, Popino’s other coaching experiences include Fitchburg State University – where he served as the linebackers coach, video coordinator, and academic coordinator from 2015-16 – and Worcester State University for two years from 2013-15 (assistant defensive backs coach).
Popino also played at Worcester State University for two seasons as a tight end, guard, and center, and graduated from the university in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication. He also completed his Master of Science in Applied Communications from Fitchburg State University in 2017.
LUKE BAKANOWSKY | OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR/QUARTERBACKS
Louis “Luke” Bakanowsky enters his first season as offensive coordinator with the football program in 2022-23. Bakanowsky was officially hired for the role on May 16, 2022.
Bakanowsky comes to Endicott from Merrimack College (NCAA FCS) where he served as its wide receivers coach from July 2018 before being promoted to quarterback coach/passing game coordinator in March of 2020.
Last year, the Warriors’ passing game led the Northeast Conference in passing yards, touchdowns, completion percentage, passer rating, and overall completions, while also placing top 10 in the nation in touchdown passes and completion percentage, at seventh and third overall, respectively.
Prior to Merrimack, Bakanowsky served as the quarterbacks coach at Nichols College for a little over a year before culminating with a promotion to offensive coordinator/QB/recruiting coordinator for his final two years with the program (August 2016-March 2018).
Bakanowsky earned his Bachelor of Science in Business with a concentration in Sport Management from Merrimack in May of 2015, while also playing quarterback on the football team.
CASEY MCDONNELL ’14 M’15 | OFFENSIVE LINE
Casey McDonnell ’14 M’15 enters his first season as an assistant coach with the football program in 2022-23.
McDonnell returns to Endicott from Castleton University where he served the program as its offensive coordinator, coaching nine all-conference players in five years. McDonell began his tenure as a Spartan in a graduate assistant role, coaching running backs while also serving as the Video and Recruiting Coordinator for a year, respectively, before being elevated to a full-time Offensive Line position in 2018. During the final two weeks of the 2019 season, McDonnell was promoted to Offensive Coordinator.
Prior to Castleton, McDonnell worked with the University of New Hampshire (Football Operations Intern) and also served as an Assistant Coach at Endicott College under head coach JB Wells from 2014-2015.
While an assistant coach at Endicott, McDonnell was an Assistant Offensive Line Coach and also assisted with the PAT/FG team in conjunction with managing video breakdowns for the team’s offensive.
McDonnell earned his bachelor’s degree in English from Endicott in 2014 before obtaining his master’s in Business Administration a year later from Endicott in 2015. While at Castleton, McDonnell also earned a Master’s in Athletic Leadership in 2018.
TJ LESNIEWSKI | LINEBACKERS
TJ Lesniewski enters his first season with the Endicott football program in 2022.
Lesniewski comes to Endicott from Merrimack College (NCAA FCS) where he served as the program’s defensive line coach and director of football operations over the course of four years (2018-22).
During his time at Merrimack, Lesniewski was responsible for the development and evaluation of defensive tackles and defensive ends in various schemes (4-2-5, 3-4), organizing and running the scout offense, managing all film needs for scouting and player development, coordinating travel, hotels, meals, and flights, and assisting with practice plans and scouting reports, among other duties.
Lesniewski also impacted student-athletes in other programs at Merrimack as an adjunct professor. In this role, Lesniewski taught and guided freshmen student-athletes through the transition from high school to college as a first-year experience professor.
Outside of Merrimack, Lesniewski has held coaching positions at Muskingum (graduate assistant/defensive line/video coordinator), Marietta (linebackers/video coordinator), and West Liberty (assistant running backs/assistant special teams coordinator).
Lesniewski graduated from West Liberty in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts in Health and Physical Education (minor: health and fitness). He went on to obtain his Master of Arts in Education from Muskingum in 2018.
As a student-athlete at West Liberty (NCAA Division II), Lesniewski was a four-year letter winner at the linebacker position and a member of the 2019 WVIAC Championship squad.
TYLER ALICUDO | WIDE RECEIVERS
Tyler Alicudo enters his first season as wide receivers coach with the football program in 2022-23. He was officially hired for the position on May 16, 2022.
Alicudo comes to Endicott from Lynn Classic High School where he served as the assistant coach/graphic designer and social media coordinator for the football program. In his role, Alicudo was responsible for coaching multiple positions including wide receivers, defensive backs, and return specialists, while also creating content through Adobe Creative Suite to help execute the teams’ social media vision.
Prior to Lynn, Alicudo received his Bachelor of Arts in Communications at Framingham State University.
During his time as a Ram, Alicudo played wide receiver and was a part of two New England Football Conference (NEFC) Bogan Division (2011-12) and one Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC, 2013) championship teams. The Rams also competed in the NCAA Division III Tournament twice (2012-13).
Alicudo also holds a Certificate in Abode Creative Suites from the American Graphics Institute (2017).
MEHDI SQUALLI ’21 M’23 | DEFENSIVE LINE
Mehdi Squalli ’21 M’23 enters his first season on the coaching staff in 2022-23.
Squalli joined the staff following a standout career for the Gulls on the gridiron. In 40 games played, Squalli, who played linebacker, compiled 165 tackles (67 solo, 98 assisted, 4.1 tackles per game, 9 TFL), two forced fumbles, three interceptions, 12 pass breakups, and one block on special teams.
The two-time captain guided Endicott to the New England Bowl Championship in 2019 and the Commonwealth Coast Football (CCC Football) Championship in 2021.
During his career, the Gulls notched a 27-16 overall record and an 18-6 conference mark.
He also was a CCC Football Academic All-Conference selection, a multiple Dean’s List honoree, and a member of EC L.E.A.D. (Leaders of the Endicott Athletics Department).
Squalli earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Management in 2021 and is currently pursuing his Master of Science in Sport Leadership.
