Take a look up and down the sidelines the next time you attend a St. Francis Prep, Fresh Meadows, varsity football game.

There are 50 players all dressed in their L’il Terriers’ uniforms, coaches calling out signals left and right and even a few alumni players sporting their varsity jackets.

Seems like a pretty standard scene at a high school football game, right?

But take a closer look, and you’ll notice a super fan standing at 6-feet, 3-inches and 250 pounds.

That fan is former NFL tight end and 1991 St. Francis Prep graduate Marco Battaglia, who is a regular along the sidelines of his alma mater’s football games.

Born in Howard Beach, Battaglia came to the Prep by way of St. Helen’s parish. He played his youth football with the New York City Lynvets Sports Association.

He chose St. Francis Prep based on the school’s history and tradition – and of course the strong sports program. Battaglia not only starred as a wide receiver and free safety on the football team, but he also manned first base on the baseball team and power forward on the basketball team.

As such, he played for three legendary coaches, all still active with the school: Brother Robert Kent, O.S.F., for baseball, Tim Leary for basketball and Vince O’Connor for football. He said all three coaches helped him develop the discipline necessary to succeed later in life.

“The coaching staff (for football) in general was amazing,” Battaglia said. “Vince O’Connor to me to this day epitomizes everything you need in a coach … class, loyalty, the old-fashioned mentality. The coaching staff respected us as much as we respected them, as long as we put in the work.”

As a junior, Battaglia totaled 31 receptions for 542 receiving yds. and six touchdowns, which earned him a berth on the All-City team. The following year, he was voted Player of the Year after compiling nine interceptions and three fumble recoveries as a free safety.

However, he said his greatest memories of playing football at the Prep were being part of back-to-back CHSFL city title teams in 1989 and 1990.

“We were fortunate on my team to have great talent,” he said. “Even to this day, we still talk about being a dominant team. Knowing that we were the best in the city at the time was something special. It’s something that lasts forever.”

After Prep, Battaglia went on to play his college football at Rutgers University, Piscataway, N.J. As a junior, he led the BIG EAST with 58 receptions for 779 yds.

But it was his senior season of 1995 that alerted the country’s college football scene to this tight end’s talent. That fall, he led the nation’s tight ends with 69 catches for 894 yds. and 10 touchdowns – which set a single-season Rutgers record.

He was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year and became the first-ever consensus First-Team All-American in Scarlet Knights’ program history. Years later, Sports Illustrated would name him as the top college football tight end on the All-Decade Team of the 1990s.

In the 1996 NFL Draft, Battaglia was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals. He spent six seasons in orange and black before playing stints with the Washington Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In his final season in 2003, he played for the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVII. Coincidentally, the offensive coordinator on that team was Dan Henning, a 1960 St. Francis Prep graduate.

“Go figure … two boys from good old St. Francis Prep,” Battaglia said.

In addition to being inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Fame in 2007, he was honored as part of the Prep’s inaugural Ring of Honor class this past March.

“You appreciate things more as you get older,” the current parishioner at Our Lady of Hope, Middle Village, said. “To be part of all those names and what they’ve accomplished is very special to me.”

Coinciding with the move of Rutgers’ football from the BIG EAST to the Big Ten Conference, Battaglia was hired as a director of development. His responsibilities include fundraising, athletic development and engaging former Rutgers’ athletes and alumni to get recommitted to the sports program. So far, he’s revved up plenty of excitement and hopes to keep that excitement alive and well.

For the current St. Francis Prep team, Battaglia serves as the perfect example of a local guy who worked extremely hard to achieve his football dreams. Through it all, the tight end has always remained true to his roots.

“I try to go back [to St. Francis Prep football games] because the program means a lot to me,” Battaglia said. “The coaching staff means a lot to me.”

Battaglia said he hopes the L’il Terriers’ program can get back to where it once was when he played on the team. And with his continued support, the Prep is well on its way.[hr]Contact Jim Mancari via email at jmancari@desalesmedia.org.