He’s ‘light-years better than I was’: St. Joe’s Prep’s Anthony Sacca is carving out his own name on the gridiron

Anthony Sacca refused to get in the car. He didn’t want to hear any more. He’d had enough. So, each night his Pop Warner football practice would end, 11-year-old Anthony would walk home alone sniffling, carrying the dirt tear streaks down his cheeks and dragging his helmet behind him. He would slip into his house, just five minutes away, look up at his mother with his bloodshot eyes, and head to his bedroom, where he would curl up in his bed, still in his grass-stained football uniform.

And each time Tony Sacca would come home, Anthony’s mother, Michelle Otto, would dart him that you-gave-Anthony-hell-at-practice look again. But Tony, the former Delran and Penn State star quarterback and Anthony’s Pop Warner coach, knew better and saw more. What frustrated the son was why his father was so hard on him.

Fast-forward to August, a stifling afternoon in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Anthony’s having another tough time. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound sophomore safety for St. Joseph’s Prep just got run over twice for touchdowns against nationally ranked St. Thomas Aquinas. Maybe Anthony wasn’t worth the hype he received toward the end of his freshman year? Maybe that sulking 11-year-old is still there curled up in his muddy uniform on his bed?

By the end of the Aquinas game, Anthony Sacca arguably was the best player on a field filled with elite national talent. The son has burst beyond his father’s vision as a two-year starter for one of the most prestigious high school programs in the country.

Anthony has 18 college offers from his father’s alma mater, Penn State, to Georgia, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Michigan. And there probably are 20 more coming. It’s not etched in stone that Anthony follows his father to Penn State, nor is it something Tony is pressuring Anthony to do.

The Aquinas game was a microcosm of his ability. What started poorly for Anthony ended strong, as he racked up five tackles, two for losses, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and one interception. Anthony — and Prep quarterback Samaj Jones — almost led Prep to a comeback after being down 21-7 in the first quarter.

It’s the only setback this season for the Hawks (11-1), who will play in the PIAA Class 6A state final for the seventh straight time on Saturday against Harrisburg.

Commanding the back end of the Prep defense will be Sacca, who has made more than 40 tackles this year.

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“I knew Anthony would be good, I just didn’t think it would come this early, and I don’t think he did either,” admitted Tony, 52, a four-year starter at Penn State (1988-91) and currently a high school health and physical education teacher. “Like any parent, we keep on him about his grades, but none of us saw this happening at 16. And I’m very proud of who Anthony is as a young man.

“I’m his harshest critic, but I’m also his biggest fan. He knows I care and love him. After every game, I’ll still tell him what I thought he did wrong, but I’ll also tell him what he did right. I don’t do it so much as a father telling his son, but as someone who knows football. He takes it far better than he did when he was 11 playing Pop Warner. ... He’s so, so, so much better than me, light-years better than I was when I was 16. He’s bigger, he’s faster, he’s stronger and he knows as much about the game as someone five years older than him.

“I knew that when he was younger. I was tough on him, and I think it made him better in the long run. I couldn’t be happier that he’s not a quarterback. Watching him playing defense is a lot different than when my father watched me playing quarterback. It’s a lot more enjoyable.”

The football acumen and size come from Tony. Anthony’s great feet and good looks, his mother jokes, come from her. Otto, 47, was a soccer star at Delran who went to West Virginia as part of the Mountaineers’ first women’s soccer team. She and Tony have been together for more than 20 years.

Otto didn’t take it easy on her son, either. Each night after Anthony would come home from practice, she would lay into Tony about getting on Anthony before then getting on Anthony. She’d tell her son get out of that uniform and stop feeling sorry for himself.

“Who do you play for at the end of the day but your parents?” Otto said. “Tony may joke with Anthony about how much better he was when he played at Delran, but Tony knows the truth. Tony knows Anthony is way better than he was when he played in high school. He may not tell Anthony that,” she said with a laugh. “I support whatever makes Anthony happy. I’m a nervous wreck watching him play. Anthony can always tell if he had a bad game or not, because he’ll ask if I spent the game in my car or not. I was heading to the car in Florida earlier this year.”

Anthony has always been obsessed with football. In kindergarten, he would draw up plays. He now falls asleep with his cellphone in his hands going over film on a loop. When the Hawks were in Fort Lauderdale in August, Michelle caught Anthony sitting at dinner drawing up plays.

The interesting dilemma Anthony faces is that he’s constantly growing. He will most likely outgrow the safety position and wind up playing outside linebacker by his junior year at the Prep and in college. He has grown an inch and gained 30 pounds since last year.

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“I wouldn’t be where I am if my dad wouldn’t have gotten on me when I was younger,” said Anthony, who’s also a talented left-handed pitcher who throws in the 80s. “When I was younger, I used to think my dad would get on me just to get under my skin. I needed that. Today, I’m older, and I’m harder on myself than my dad. Ever since I stopped playing quarterback, that changed, too. I’ve always been a quarterback since I was 5, all the way until I got to Prep my freshman year. Playing defense was the fastest way for me to get on the field — and I didn’t have to hear my dad when I played quarterback.

“I love it. I get to fly all over the field. ... The Aquinas game was an eye-opener. I wasn’t happy with the way I was playing. I still had three quarters to make up for the mistakes I made. I missed two tackles, and I was determined not to miss another.”

Anthony still gets odd looks when he tells people he’s a sophomore. No one believes he’s 16. If he could walk through a time portal, what would he tell that crying kid walking home from practice alone?

“I would tell that kid it will all work out in the end, and my dad had a plan,” Anthony said. “I used to think he would get on me to [tick] me off and try and make my day worse, while he was really trying to make me a better football player. I think it did.”