Michael DeSantis, who is on his way to becoming a four-year starter in three sports, entered South River as one of the high school’s most promising all-around athletes and has not disappointed.
As a freshman on a football team that featured Mario Nigro under center, DeSantis, who spent his Pop Warner years playing quarterback, started at wide receiver, where he caught 17 passes for 261 yards and five touchdowns.
After Nigro graduated at the conclusion of that academic year, DeSantis returned to his natural position, where he has since completed 266 of 430 attempts for 3,753 yards and 41 touchdowns.
DeSantis passed for 252 yards and threw a scoring strike for his 14th consecutive game while leading South River to a 34-0 victory over Middlesex on Saturday. He finished with four touchdowns – three through the air and one on the ground – and also rushed nine times for 40 yards.
For his efforts, DeSantis has been named MyCentralJerey.com’s Week 2 Football Player of the Week, receiving 36,572 votes – or 44.5 percent – of the 82,285 total votes cast in our online poll.
DeSantis, who also stars on the basketball court (186 career assists and 275 career rebounds) and on the baseball diamond (.338 career hitter), was the league’s leading passer a year ago. He threw 21 touchdown passes in 2017, four shy of the single-season school record Mickey Dustal holds.
The 61.8 career completion percentage of DeSantis is reflective of the accuracy he displayed as a Little League baseball pitcher, when at the age of 12 he hurled a perfect game, striking out all 18 batters he faced, a masterpiece he followed up less than a month later with yet another perfect game. DeSantis' accuracy extends to the hardwood, where the sharp-shooting varsity player has thus far scored 657 points.
“He’s one of the most athletic kids we’ve had,” said South River quarterbacks coach and head baseball coach Mike Lepore Jr., who has been a mentor at the high school for 25 years. “Just being a three-sport starter for four years, that doesn’t come across often. He’ll have 12 varsity letters by the time he’s done. I can’t remember the last athlete I’ve coached that’s done that.”
DeSantis will graduate with numbers ranking him among the best quarterbacks in South River’s storied history including the likes of Keith Hudak (57 career touchdown passes) and Super Bowl MVP Joe Theismann.
Theismann and Hudak benefited from having future NFL receivers at their disposal. Theismann played catch with future Pro-Bowler Drew Pearson, while Hudak had future Philadelphia Eagle and Houston Oiler Kenny Jackson at his disposal.
South River head coach Rich Marchesi, who is in his 31st season and has won 306 games, has slightly tweaked his offense this year, showcasing more of DeSantis’ running ability as the Rams look to utilize their quarterback as an inside rushing threat while also allowing him to roll out.
“He’s dangerous when he gets out of the pocket because he can throw it and he’s got great vision,” Lepore said. “Rolling out, he looks at the first receiver. If he’s covered, he’ll look for the second and try to go deep. But then when he tucks it away, he’s strong and fast.”
Lepore described DeSantis as “sneaky fast” and one of South River’s fastest players who also runs hard, as exhibited on one play against Middlesex last weekend during which he literally dragged four tacklers down field as he gained extra yardage.
In addition to being a tireless worker during the offseason, DeSantis is a team leader on and off the field and an exemplary student-athlete.
“He’s been brought up the right way,” Lepore said. “He’s got great character and he’s humble.”
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