From an assistant coach with the Gulls to head coach with the Blue Knights.
Casey McDonnell was introduced as the new Lunenburg High football head coach Friday via Twitter, moving from the sidelines at Endicott College in Beverly to below the Friday night lights of high school gridiron action in Central Massachusetts.
It’s McDonnell’s first head coaching job.
He had served as an assistant coach with the Gulls last fall, heading up the play of the offensive line and charged with recruiting in New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont and Long Island, New York during his second stint with the program. McDonnell had previously been an assistant coach at Endicott in 2014 and 2015 before departing for Castleton University.
The Gulls went 10-1 last fall, dropping an NCAA Division 3 opening round contest to Springfield College to close the campaign.
McDonnell takes the reins after the departure of Anthony Nalen, who was named head coach at Bishop Guertin in Nashua, New Hampshire, in January. The Blue Knights finished last season 6-5, falling in the first round of the Division 7 tournament to Uxbridge and closing the campaign with a loss on Thanksgiving to Oakmont Regional.
In his time at the helm, Nalen compiled an 18-9 record with the Blue Knights, leading Lunenburg to the Midland Wachusett D league championship last fall.
During his time at Castleton, McDonnell served as the Spartans’ offensive coordinator, coaching nine all-conference players in his five years at the Vermont college. Prior to being named OC, he held a graduate assistant role, coaching running backs and serving as the video and recruiting Coordinator for a year, respectively, before being elevated to a full-time offensive line position in 2018.
Toward the tail end of the 2019 season, McDonnell was promoted to offensive coordinator at Castleton.
McDonnell has also worked with the University of New Hampshire as a football operations intern.
A native of Plaistow, New Hampshire, and a graduate of Timberlane Regional High School, earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Endicott in 2014 before obtaining his master’s in Business Administration a year later from Endicott.. While at Castleton, McDonnell also earned a Master’s in Athletic Leadership in 2018.
From 2010-13, McDonnell played on the offensive line for Endicott. At Timberlane, McDonnell was a three-sport athlete, participating in indoor and outdoor track in addition to football.