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HARTINGTON — The Chad Cattau era has come to a close on the gridiron at Cedar Catholic High School, after roaming the sidelines for the Trojans since the turn of the century.
It was announced earlier this spring that 2025 was the last time he would coach the men in red for football, and James Kaiser was named the new head coach.
Looking back on his very successful career as coach, Cattau, as usual, was humble and wanted to thank everyone else for his successes.
He graduated from high school back in 1995 at Leigh, then moved on to Wayne State College, where he earned his undergraduate degree in 2000 and his master’s degree from Wayne State in 2010.
After graduating from college, he was hired by Cedar Catholic and has been a Trojan ever since, and he still still is.
“I really don’t know what games will be like for me this fall,” said Cattau. “It will be the first Friday nights not coaching since 1999 so it’s hard to say.
“I know it will be difficult, but I will be a big supporter of the team each and every week.”
Another thing he will miss will be the scheming and friendships he has developed over the years.
“There are so many coaches that have helped along the way starting with the assistants here at Cedar,” the coach said. “All of our assistant coaches have meant a lot to me in more ways than words can describe.
“The behind the scenes hours that all of these guys put in for our players can’t even be calculated. We have had coaches here for many years that helped and we had some that were here for a limited amount of time, but they all contributed to the success of the program in so many ways.”
Cattau also looked to coaches on the other sideline when playing common opponents. They talked about almost anything — blocking schemes, players and sometimes it had little to do with football.
“I have always had a great relationship with many of the coaches we faced off against,” he said. “Some of the guys I reached out to the most were Tony Hoffman and Tom Allen from Crofton, Mark Brahmer from Pierce and Jeff Bellar from Norfolk Catholic.
“Coach Bellar and I always talked regularly during past seasons and not just to bounce ideas off of one another and discuss the teams we were playing that week, but to talk about life and our families. He will forever be someone I will call a close friend of mine.”
And of course, he wanted to thank his players over the years.
“I want to thank each and every player who put in the time and the effort for our school to be successful,” “It takes a real commitment from everyone involved to be successful as a team, and I have always thought our guys represented themselves and their hard work in a positive manner. We had a lot of great wins and some tough losses along the way, but I hope throughout that process, each of these young men were able to grow as people and it has helped them become successful workers, husbands and dads along the paths of their lives because ultimately, that is what high school coaches are trying to produce.
“Chasing championships is a great goal and a great thing to achieve but sending young men out prepared for their lives beyond school is a bigger accomplishment. I love seeing former players being successful in whatever path they are on is a great feeling.”
He started his coaching career while still at Wayne State as an assistant coach for basketball under Clayton Steele from Laurel High School and was hired for his first full time job at Cedar, where he was an assistant coach for football, girls basketball and track.
He was an assistant when the Trojans played for a state title in 2001 against Lawrence-Nelson and the head coach for three additional appearances at Memorial Stadium in 2009 against Ponca, 2014 against Aquinas, and 2023 against Norfolk Catholic.
Cattau has a career record of 165-86, has won seven district titles, has coached 36 First-Team All-State players, 12 Shrine Bowl players and literally hundreds of all-district selections.
He was an assistant for the 2024 Shrine Bowl and in the Northeast Nebraska All-Star Classic in 2015. He was the head coach in the NE. Neb All Stars in 2017.
Another thing he will definitely miss will be the interaction with his own family when it pertains to football and athletics.
“Through this coaching gig I was able to meet my wife, Dawn, and that has been the greatest impact on me as a person and coach,” he said. “She has been the behind the scenes rock of my career and our family, and she will never get enough credit for that.
“I was able to coach her younger brother when he was at Cedar and that path brought us together. Her impact on our teams each year was always important. She was basically a single mom for many months while the kids were little and I have nothing but love for her for giving me the opportunities I have had through her sacrifices.”
He also thanked his children. “Our children have also been a great influence on me,” said the coach. “Jada was always the biggest supporter and fan I had during games and away from the field. I can’t say enough about how enjoyable my time coaching Jaymison and Micah has been. Now, I just get to sit back and watch Micah and Eli grow as young men and players during their careers, and hopefully, spend more time with them just being a dad.”
Every now and then someone comes along that just “gets it.” It’s quite apparent, Chad Cattau “gets it’ and has been passing it along for many years and will continue to mold young adults into good people.
