Matthew Abate is a team player, but there are some times he enjoys going solo.
“I love going to church on Sundays. I like going by myself and sitting in the pew and listening to the homily and Gospel and reflecting. My faith gets me through everything,” said Abate, a Paul VI senior and offensive lineman for the high school’s football team.
Aside from grinding it out on the gridiron and keeping a 3.3 grade point average in the classroom, Abate has also served as an altar boy for about eight years at Saint Peter Parish in Merchantville.
“I just really like being up there, serving our Lord,” he said.
Father Tim Byerley, pastor of Saint Peter Parish, has witnessed that firsthand. “Matthew is an upstanding Christian gentleman and a fine football player. He has real humility, and is always faithful to his altar serving. He’s right there at Mass with his family, who live their faith authentically. Matthew carries himself with great dignity and goodness.”
The soft-spoken senior is rough and tumble on the football field as Paul VI’s starting left guard. His main duties are to protect junior quarterback Daulton Phalines and open up holes for a stable of talented running backs that includes Nate Klecko, Tyree Roane and Elijah Wilson. Abate and a powerful offensive line paved the way for the Eagles to secure a 42-7 victory on opening night Aug. 30 in front of the home crowd in Haddonfield. It was Abate’s first start after biding his time on the varsity sidelines during his first two years, and breaking into the lineup on special teams last season.
“Freshman and sophomore year, I got to dress and watch people play,” Abate said. “Junior year, I was moved up to play on kicking teams, and this year I got the start.”
He’s used to traveling a tough path. It started early.
“When he was first born, the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck,” said Abate’s father, Tom. “We noticed at a really young age, he couldn’t really see. We used to have to patch each eye, every so often until he was 12. But they’ve gotten much better over time.”
Tom Abate has coached his son more than a decade through youth sports. He has coached the Paul VI freshman football team the last three years and helps out on junior varsity. But he didn’t want to join his son on varsity this season.
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“It’s his time to shine,” Tom Abate said. “His journey here has been amazing. I watch him grind every day and lift [weights]. As a father, it’s impressive to see, because he’s sacrificed so many nights to get here and be a starter and be a big contributor and do what he’s doing. It’s heartwarming. Then I watch him on Sundays with his faith and saying his rosary and being an altar boy and doing all the right things.”
Abate shies from the spotlight and prefers doing the grunt work behind the scenes to serve others. “He’s one of those young men that doesn’t like the limelight at all,” Tom Abate said. “He’s very quiet. In a world of takers, he’s a giver. He works very hard, and he’s just a really good kid.”
Abate said he hopes to further his education at Rowan University next year, but he’s undecided on what he will study. Whichever path he takes, he plans to serve God and honor his family.
“We use the word ‘sheepdog,’” Tom Abate said. “You’re not a sheep, you’re not a wolf, you’re a sheepdog. You take care of your family, honor God and honor your mother and father. He does that in a way I couldn’t be more proud of.”
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