PEABODY — Peabody High’s record-setting kicker Domenic Scalese has committed to play football at Division 1 Stonehill College. Scalese made the announcement following an official visit to the school on Saturday.
“It’s a beautiful campus with fantastic facilities and their football facilities are incredible,” he said. “The biggest sell was the coaches and players and how welcome and supportive they have been during the whole process.”
Scalese first visited Stonehill when he attended a summer football camp there before sophomore year.
“I’ve always liked Stonehill and met my kicking coach, Nick DiCairano, there at the camp and he coaches at Stonehill,” Scalese said. “I am already familiar with the program and the school. I also got to work with their kickers and punters over the summer and they were all great, so I feel Stonehill is the right place.”
Scalese’s 2023 season was magical. He set a new single-season (65) and career (163) record for most points by a kicker. He received the team’s 12th Player Award. He made nine of 17 field goal attempts – the longest being a 48-yarder against Marblehead at home and a 47-yarder at Leominster. He successfully converted 38 of 41 extra points.
On kickoffs, Scalese could always be counted on to deliver the goods, averaging nearly 50 yards per kick with 31 of 60 kickoffs resulting in touchbacks.
Scalese earned Northeastern Conference All-Conference honors and NEC Best Punter/Kicker honors.
Tanners’ head coach Mark Bettencourt said Scalese’s impact could not be understated.
“For us, Dom totally changed the game. When a drive stalled, we knew we could get some points out of it. And it totally affected the field position of the game,” Bettencourt said. “The touchbacks he had represented 31 fewer opportunities for the other team to run back a kickoff and get to the 50 or our side of the field. Big plays are a huge part of the high school game and Dom simply took that away.”
Scalese was also Mr. Reliable when it came to punting, averaging 35.5 yards per punt.
“I personally haven’t seen a kid who can kick like this,” said Peabody TV football play-by-play announcer and former city councilor Joel Saslaw. “Kicking and long snapping specialities have recently come so much to the forefront with kickers and long snappers now being rated three-star, four-star and five-star. For me, Dom is the first one of this caliber, locally. More importantly, he’s always been so respected by his coaches and his teammates. I think Stonehill has really landed a good one.”
That’s putting it mildly. Scalese is ranked 4.5 (on a scale of 1 to 5) in punting and kicking by Kohl’s Professional Camps, a premier kicking and punting outfit that conducts speciality showcases. He ranks 87 nationally in kicking and 76th in punting.
The only kicker/punter in Massachusetts who ranks higher than Scalese? Winchester High’s Kieran Carr, a Harvard commit with a perfect 5.0 rating who is ranked No. 1 in the nation.
Scalese, who carries a 3.78 GPA and plans to study pre-med, is using his skills to raise money for a higher cause, the Every Kick Counts organization whose mission is to eliminate or reduce stillborn deaths. Scalese said he lost his baby brother, Nico, to a stillborn death in 2012.
“I talked to my mom (Stephanie) and she thought it was a great idea to get involved,” Scalese said. “Donors make pledges on a point basis for every kick and punt – things like field goals or pinning an opponent inside the 20 and at the end of the year, the points are translated into dollars.”
So far, Scalese is a top-10 fundraiser with $3,385 in pledges. He plans to continue raising money at Stonehill. To make a donation, visit the organization’s website at https://charity.pledgeit.org/everykickcounts.
Scalese said the hardest thing about kicking is “staying consistent.”
“It’s extremely hard to do the exact same movement 100 times a day during five days of practice and then do it Friday night under pressure,” he said. “You can’t let it get in your head.”
Bettencourt said Scalese’s work ethic is “amazing.”
“The thing about Dom is we left him alone a lot, so he did his drill work on his own for the most part and got his work done,” Bettencourt said. “The big thing about Domenic is he is self-motivated. He did all the work he needed to do to be ready for game day.”
Scalese is quick to credit his success to long snapper Matt Dresser and holder Alex Silva.
“They had phenomenal seasons,” Scalese said of his fellow Tanners. “We didn’t have a lot of bad snaps or holds. The only times were early in the season but by the third game, they had it down pat.”
When asked what his favorite part of kicking is, Scalese was quick to say, “That’s easy: putting points on the board. That’s what I hope to do at Stonehill.”
Saslaw has no doubt that’s exactly what Scalese will do.
“It’s a great opportunity at a growing program,” Saslaw said of the Skyhawks, who went 5-5 last fall. “It’s a great match for both Dom and the college and I know he will be successful.”
