On Saturday, September 13, 2025, Frank Farinaccio made the type of history few parents could ever dream of. As he took the field to face the Western Mustangs, the opponent wasn’t just familiar because of the hours he’d spent watching tape. Instead, Frank was preparing to become the first Carleton Ravens football coach to ever face off against their own son.
What made the battle even sweeter was that Frank needed to have a game plan ready for his son Luca, a linebacker with the number three-ranked Mustangs.
“I have to admit, it was a lot harder than I thought it would be,” Frank said of pre-scouting for the matchup with Luca and the Mustangs. “Leading up, all throughout, I thought it would be like any other week, but early on, when I was trying to break down Western’s defence, my eyes would want to see what my son was doing.”
It’s easy to understand the draw for Frank. He was the one who introduced Luca to football, helping him to find his love for the game. “He brought me up around football,” explained Luca. “He got me playing when I was seven, and he coached me throughout my childhood.”
Though Frank introduced Luca to the game, he admits Luca needed little help finding a spark or drive. “He started to show it around 13,” Frank recalls. “He decided at 13 that he was going to go to prep school and he was going to be a good football player.” While Luca chased his dream, so did Frank.
A former teacher with the Ottawa Catholic School Board, Frank rejoined the Carleton Ravens coaching staff in 2020, a return to his roots, having previously served an assistant coach in 1998 and 1999 before the program went on hiatus. After a stint across town and time spent coaching Ottawa high school football, Frank’s current tenure with Carleton set the table for Saturday’s cherished encounter.
With a massive contingent of friends and family in the crowd, Luca and Frank went head-to-head for the first time. The pair, who typically speak throughout the week, had cut off communication throughout week 4, agreeing before the season to focus on the game. And, while Luca and the Mustangs would get the better of Frank and the Ravens, it was a tremendous moment for the Farinaccio family.
Asked to describe his son, Frank discussed the relentless, tenacious approach to the game that defined Luca’s style of play. It’s lost on no one that those are values he learned from his first coach, Frank. “The biggest lesson I ever learned from my dad, in regard to football, is to just always keep your head down and keep going,” reflected Luca.
With their first in-season encounter behind them, persistence will be key for both as they strive to help their teams achieve their ultimate goals. As Luca continues to seek out a starting spot at Western, Frank and the Ravens are heads down, driving for an OUA playoff spot. No matter when they meet next, there’s one thing for sure: the football roots run deep with the Farinaccio family.
