Bedford’s Matthews steps down

By rbrown
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Updated: February 2, 2026

Zach Matthews speaks to his son Bennett during a preseason scrimmage/rbrown photo

When the Bedford High School football team takes the field next season it will do so with a new head coach.

Zach Matthews informed his team and coaching staff Monday that he has resigned as Bedford’s head coach, a position he has held since 2019. Matthews recently accepted an offer to become the head football coach and assistant athletic director at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va.

The move will allow Matthews and his wife to be closer to their two oldest children: Olivia is a sophomore on the James Madison women’s lacrosse team, and Bennett will be a freshman on the Duke men’s lacrosse team in the fall. Bennett also played quarterback for the Bulldogs last season.

“It’s all about family and pushing myself professionally,” Matthews said. “We’ll be closer to our children and athletic administration is something I’d like to do in the future. This checked all the boxes.”

Matthews guided Bedford to the Division I championship in 2022, 2023 and 2025. The Bulldogs also reached the Division I semifinals in 2024.

He said his new job begins July 1, so he will finish the school year at Bedford High School, where he teaches physical education.

Matthews said he was specifically looking for a boarding school environment and the fact that he can mold his roster also made the Episcopal job appealing.

Before taking over at Bedford, Matthews spent eight seasons as the head coach at Kearsarge Regional.

“I think there’s a great foundation (at Bedford),” Matthews said. “We had a senior-laden team last year, so there are a lot of younger athletes who are going to have to contribute next season. There are some really good athletes in the program and football is important to the kids.”

Matthews played at Plymouth State and got into coaching when he served as Utica’s wide receivers coach during his first year out of college. He spent five years as the offensive coordinator at Merrimack Valley and took over as the defensive coordinator at Kearsarge in 2010, when the Cougars beat St. Thomas in the Division V championship game. He became Kearsarge’s head coach in 2011.

Bennett ran for three touchdowns and passed for two others to help Bedford beat Pinkerton Academy 35-7 in the 2025 Division I championship game. Matthews said he had a good idea that would be his final game as Bedford’s head coach.

“That was about as good as it was going to get for me as a coach on the sideline in New Hampshire,” he said.

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