Coach’s Corner
Building Boys to Men and Building Homes Jim Render
It has been a number of years since I began writing about my marvelous former football players who’ve gone on to become highly successful people in a variety of professions. The word “marvelous” is used to describe them first as people, and then as high school football players. The professions they’ve chosen include doctors, lawyers, wealth management advisors, insurance specialists, National Football League players and executives, stadium builders, real estate developers, a popular Italian restaurant owner, and a bridge builder. They were great competitors in high school football games, and all of them still use the word “compete” to describe their approach to their occupations today. These guys are successful because, like in football, they really enjoy the competitive process, and working long hours is second nature. Coach Lou Holtz would tell his young coaches that they only had to work a half a day. Either midnight ’til noon or noon to midnight. As for the word “marvelous,” Frank Sinatra used the word often to describe the writers, directors, and musicians around him. Continuing with the theme of good players, good people, and hard workers, as well as very successful business entrepreneurs, I want to introduce you to brothers Matt and Jon Moritz. You may remember that I’ve previously written about the Hondru brothers (Scott, Mark, and Todd) the Lees (Conor and Sean), and, more recently, the Mascaro brothers (John, Jeffery, and Michael). Matt Moritz is one of the most interesting guys you’ll ever meet. He is a take-charge person and has been a mover and shaker since he was in grade school. For instance, he got his neighbor to sign him up for youth football when he was just eight years old. His not-so-happy parents finally gave the OK, provided he would also take piano lessons. He can still tickle the ivories today. Matt had a great career as a high school varsity football player. He was a three-year starter and contributed to all phases of the game. He will always be remembered for 14
UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY
his efforts at Three Rivers Stadium during his junior year. We were in a tight WPIAL championship game versus Penn Trafford in 1997. With the score tied 21–21, Matt intercepted a pass and gave USC possession of the ball midway in the fourth quarter. Shortly thereafter, we had Matt lined up in the slot position on the right side and I called a reverse left, which he took to the house and gave us what proved to be the winning touchdown. The next week in a state semi-final game against Erie McDowell at old Pitt stadium, he returned a kickoff all the way back, which greatly factored in our victory and a berth in the state championship game. Thankfully, he did not have to take any piano lessons in November of that year. Following his high school graduation in 1999, Matt was recruited to play football and continue his education at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University. He became a starter his sophomore year as a defensive back. Knee injuries forced him to hang up his cleats, but he graduated on time as an economics and computer science major in 2003. Matt remarked to me that he did not like to go to class and often would not go. Instead, he would read the book and cram study just before a test. Upon graduation in 2003, his study habits worked so well that he received a scholarship to Duquesne University Law School. While back in Pittsburgh, several lifechanging events occurred in Matt’s life. First, he began working for Eddy Homes, owned by his dad, Dave. Matt began as a low-end laborer, where he spent much of his time on the business end of a broom, sweeping up after the construction workers left for the day. Dave was also trying to send a message that home building was a tough business and maybe he should give more attention to law school. Life-changing event number two did, in fact, occur in a law school classroom setting. Matt met a young lady who took good notes when he skipped classes, just like he did at Johns Hopkins. This arrangement worked so well that she began tutoring him… and then in Winter 2020
Left to right: Jon (USC #24), Dave, and Matt (USC #25) Moritz, circa 1998
2009, she married him. Today, Matt and Kristen, who has her own law firm, have three children, Mason (8), Hadley (6), and Luke(4). The other good news is that Matt also passed the bar exam in 2008. Jonathan (Jon) Moritz was also an excellent high school football player. Over the years, we only moved a couple of guys up to the JV/Varsity team and took them away from their freshman teammates. To do this, the young man must be mature and have advanced athletic ability for it to work. Jon, although of slight height and weight, was a guy we needed at the varsity level in 1998 when he was a freshman. By the time he was a junior and senior, he was an exciting running back, an excellent corner back, and always a threat as a kick returner. Following his 2001 graduation from USC, Jon continued his education at Penn State as an economics major. Jon remarked that his four years in Happy Valley were very enjoyable. After a 2005 graduation, Jon went to work with his cousin, Dan Ryan, in the homebuilding business. Jon said it was a great opportunity, as Dan would provide access to operational meetings in everything from sales to architecture. This experience became invaluable when Jon became part of growing the Eddy Homes business. Following his time with Dan Ryan, Jon went to Chicago and spent two years at DePaul University, where he earned his MBA. At this point, he combined his education with his practical experience and returned to Pittsburgh, where he joined his dad and his brother in the home construction business. Eddy Homes was founded in 1971 by Edward J. Moritz. It was a small business in the pre-computer age of operation. Dave joined his father’s (Edward) business following his graduation from Denison University in Ohio. He began running the business in 1983. Matt and Jon will both say that their dad had a great ability to build a fine home. He was known for building quality rather than quantity. It must also be noted that, until Matt and Jon joined him, Dave was doing everything from securing land, to marketing and sales,
