Josh Mastromatto has his sights set on one day attending medical school.
Mark Visco hopes to one day pass the bar exam and become a lawyer.
Their talents on the football field have opened doors to not only obtain the education they need but also play a sport they love. Mastromatto will play football at Kutztown where he hopes to major in pre-med, and Visco has signed on with Widener where he will pursue a pre-law degree.
Teammates Chot Kelly and Derek Giannetti also have parlayed their skills on the football field into an opportunity to get an excellent education. Kelly will take his talents to Randolph Macon, and Giannetti will be playing football at Ursinus.
For all four, it is a happy ending to outstanding high school careers.
“I’m really excited,” said Mastromatto. “When you go back and look at the season, you miss it so much. When you’re there, you take it for granted.
“Hopefully, it’s going to be another four years of memories.”
Mastromatto’s final list came down to Millersville and Kutztown. Location was a consideration for Mastromatto, who wanted to stay close to his sister.
“Kutztown recruited me the hardest,” he said. “With the Division One schools, I might have been able to walk on, but I didn’t feel like I had a strong chance to contend because of my size.
“It also came down to money because I want to go to medical school, and I didn’t want to come out with huge debts.”
Mastromatto, who rushed for over 1,500 yards and had 17 touchdowns, is expected to play slot back. He will be joined at Kutztown by Abington wide receiver Dom Massey.
“He creates unbelievable problems for teams in the slot,” coach Bret Stover said. “With Massey outside and him inside, that’s a nice offense that will give opposing defenses fits.”
Visco chose Widener over King’s College.
“Coach Taylor had a friend who was a coach there, and he said to check it out,” Visco said. “That was my first visit, and I really liked the school and the coaching staff.
“I didn’t know if I was going to be able to play football in college. I had a good year in high school, and I was able to think about it, and now I’m actually going to be playing. It’s exciting.”
He admits that it was the law school that drew him to Widener as much as the football team.
“You don’t have to take the test to get in if you go there,” Visco said.
Visco is projected to play strong safety.
“He has some experience there, and it should be a natural fit,” the Flying Cardinals’ coach said. “It will come easier than it did with us because he had to split his time between offense and defense.”
Giannetti picked Ursinus from a final list that included Shippensburg, Millersville and Randolph Macon, and he admits Ursinus had the edge even before football entered the picture.
“I applied there before the football coach came to talk to me,” he said. “Once I had an overnight stay, it opened things up.
“I talked to the football coaches, and it made it an easy decision because of the school academically too.”
Giannetti, according to Stover, had his coming out party in Upper Dublin’s electrifying come-from-behind 19-14 win over Upper Moreland. In that game, the senior QB threw for 259 yards and three touchdowns – one of those a 15-yard touchdown pass to Kelly with three seconds remaining in regulation.
“The first three games of the season all he did was hand the ball to Mastromatto,” Stover said. “He has the arm strength, and he understands and reads defenses well.”
Giannetti, who will major in education, will have an opportunity to see playing time his freshman year as a punter.
“I might get a few reps here and there at quarterback, but probably my sophomore year I’ll see playing time,” he said.
Upper Dublin’s big win over Upper Moreland was also a ‘coming out party’ of sorts for Kelly, who amassed 214 receiving yards on seven receptions – three for touchdowns.
Unfortunately, a broken collarbone sidelined Kelly the majority of the season.
“The upside for all four players is they have untapped potential that hasn’t been seen,” Stover said. “With Chot, he catches the ball with his hands, and he gets open. He opened some eyes in the Upper Moreland game.”
Kelly thought he might have missed out on his chance to play collegiate football because of his injury, but Randolph Macon wasn’t the only college interested in obtaining his talents. He also gave serious consideration to West Chester and Shippensburg.
“It was really tough,” he said. “After I got hurt, I started missing football, but because of the injury, my stats weren’t really there. I was just happy that some schools still gave me a chance.
“I was glad for the opportunity to play at Randolph Macon. I don’t want to have to say ‘What if?’ If I give it a shot, and it doesn’t work out, I’ll go from there.”
Kelly is planning to major in business.
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