Manny Matsakis came home, and he brought the family business with him.

Manny Matsakis, OC Winnipeg Blue Bombers and QB Michael Bishop

The 1980 Shadyside High grad is the head coach/general manager of the Ohio Valley Ironmen, our new charter entry into the International Football Alliance, which debuts in late May in both the United States and Mexico. And, yes, right here in Moundsville, West Virginia.

And -- while new -- the Ironmen offer a delightful "blast from the past" vibe, harkening back to the beloved Wheeling and OV Ironmen of 1960's fame.

But we're not talking about your grandfather's Ironmen here. Matsakis is bringing with him his vaunted Triple Shoot offense, a wide-open hybrid of an attack with four receivers and a superback RB. The Ironmen offense will spread it out and turn it over to QB James Franklin to attack via fly-sweep run or a run-and-shoot aerial barrage. Fans nostalgic for three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust would do better to stick to old YouTube videos, because this ain't it.

Matsakis, the mastermind of the Triple Shoot, is seen as a vital part of the future of the IFA, which competes in outdoor stadiums using NFL rules. There are six teams total, with plans to expand as early as 2026, and internet streaming rights that will place the games directly into the living rooms -- free of charge -- to 175 million homes. The streaming capability is viewed as the difference-maker for the success of the IFA, whereas similar ventures in the past have relied largely upon ESPN partnerships.

Simply put, the time is right and the time is now. The Ironmen are back. To find out how we got there, you've got to drift back to the 1960's when young Manny Matsakis caught the football bug from his dad, Powhatan High head coach Mike Matsakis. Mike used to haul his son to Wheeling Island Stadium to catch the Ironmen, whose head coach, Lou Blumling, doubled as the defensive coordinator at Powhatan High for Coach Mike.

Young Manny would soak up the lessons learned, and soon go on to become a record-setting place-kicker: He still, to this day, holds the record for longest field goal in Capital University history, 54 yards in 1981. Three years later he would be drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles, the last straight-on kicker drafted by an NFL team. He had gone to college to study dentistry, but the family business kept pulling him back in.

As a coach, Matsakis quickly hit his stride as an offensive savant and was in great demand, serving as head coach at Emporia State (1995-98), Texas State U (2003) and Bethany College (Kansas) (2013-14). He also served as an assistant under some fantastic head coaches like Mike Leach and Bill Snyder. Leach's staff at Texas Tech included Art Briles, Sonny Dykes and Dana Holgersen. Manny considers Rich Rodriguez as a personal friend.

The odyssey -- at least for the hands-on coaching, as Manny does extensive consulting work and has quite a few irons in the football fire -- seemed to close about three years ago, when Manny brought his family (wife Lizzie and 12-year-old son Eli) back to Shadyside to help care for his ailing father. Sadly, Mike passed away in 2023 but the family had by established roots and refused to leave.

Yet again, football came calling. The IFA -- with offensive-minded head coaches like Hal Mumme and Art Briles -- knew what Matsakis would bring to the league. They implored him to take charge of a team in one of the bigger cities such as Baltimore. But there was no way. Just no way.

Unless ...

His thoughts drifted to what-could-be, and the Green Bay Packers offered an intriguing example.

"They (the IFA) needed one more team,'' Matsakis said. "I just pitched this area. I mean, you look at the OVAC and on any typical weekend you've got 120,000 people in stadiums enjoying football. You see some of the teams in our league and in Tampa they've already got the Buccaneers and the Rays, and all those other things going on in that city and Dallas and so forth. Then I thought, if it hadn't been for the Packers, who would've ever heard of Green Bay, Wisconsin? How cool is it going to be to have professional outdoor football here in the Ohio Valley?"

Very cool, according to Moundsville City Manager Rick Healy: "Honestly, my first thought was, 'No way!' Of course, I think Monarch Stadium is top notch, but I know there were other options. After meeting with Mr. Matsakis, and hearing the reasoning, it made it even more exciting."

Of course, the team needed a name. Now step back for a second and consider the sonic palette of football fever burning through the mind of Manny Matsakis. And consider that, long before he moved home, he had made arrangements to actually buy the names of the Wheeling Ironmen and Ohio Valley Ironmen. Five years ago ...

"I was thinking about making a website about the Ironmen," he chuckled. Instead, he made the Ironmen.

So the team had its home, had a name, and had a coach. "The vote was unanimous to bring us in," Matsakis said, as he joined yet another football family.

So gird your loins, football fans. The roster is filling, training camp is approaching, and the team is lining up sponsorships. Tickets will be on sale in April, and merchandise is available now. Any questions concerning the Ironmen Union for fans or Ironmen Guild for business can contact Joe@ohiovalleyironmen.com for personal attention.

Written by Joe Myers