Division 3 Holliston High fills the ranks at Division 1 colleges

Holliston High players (from left) Mike Stone, Matt Edwards, and Matt Bellomo have berths in Division 1 college programs. (BILL POLO/GLOBE STAFF/FILE 2007)

HOLLISTON - Four years ago, Holliston High football coach Todd Kiley looked at his depth chart and predicted big things from his freshman class.

But for a Division 3 school competing in the Tri-Valley League, sending multiple players to Division 1 college programs was still a pipe dream - until this year.

In the school's library on Wednesday, tight end Mike Stone and running backs Matt Edwards and Matt Bellomo signed letters of intent to Division 1 schools in New England. According to Kiley, another player, defensive lineman Nick Collilouri, will bid to make the University of Massachusetts at Amherst squad as a walk on.

The signing ceremony was a crowning moment for Kiley, who has dedicated himself to developing the program since taking the reins in 2003, and the culmination of a lengthy marketing process on behalf of his players.

Starting in the first week of December 2006, Kiley got to work compiling highlight videos. By early the next month, he had sent them out to an array of top programs, and two days after February's signing day - when then-senior Mark Petercuskie formally committed to the University of New Hampshire - Kiley received an inquiry from the University of Connecticut about Edwards.

From there, it steamrolled.

Edwards - who clocks in at 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash and is lined up to play safety for UConn - committed to the Huskies on July 4. The 6-foot-6-inch, 230-pound Stone committed to Boston College in August, and will likely suit up in the fall as a tight end.

Unlike Stone and Edwards, Bellomo's decision to sign with the College of the Holy Cross was a last-minute shift. Last fall's Gatorade State Player of the Year, with 2,353 all-purpose yards and 16 touchdowns for Holliston, he received a scholarship offer from New Hampshire two weeks ago. But then, Crusaders head coach Tom Gilmore called Bellomo with an offer he couldn't refuse.

Bellomo says the Worcester school's proximity to home was a factor, but that overall, "the program was just a right fit for me."

In discussing how his players earned their Division 1 berths, Kiley said, "College coaches are understanding that although we play in a semi small-town league, it is a competitive, competitive league."

Meanwhile, a former Panther has signed with a big-time program in the Southeast. Nose tackle Rich Bell, a Mendon resident who transferred from Holliston to the Salisbury School in Connecticut following his sophomore season, will play the defensive line for Tulane University next fall. The 6-foot-1, 275-pound Bell - who reportedly runs the 40 in 4.86 seconds - helped Salisbury go undefeated en route to the 2006 New England Prep School title.

According to his father, Dick Bell, who had a stint in the NFL, Rich initially committed to Ohio University in early September. But on Jan. 14, one day after returning from an official visit at Tulane, he switched his commitment to the Green Wave.

In all, seven recent Panthers are slated to play college football, including quarterback Grady Capobianco, who is heading to Tufts.

Three other local football stars signed with Division 1 schools on Wednesday. Natick High middle linebacker Nick Zambarano, who led the Redmen with 151 tackles, signed with Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. Lincoln-Sudbury Regional tailback Mark Hogan, the school's all-time leading scorer and rusher, will attend Brown. And Watertown resident Nico Papas, who played nose tackle for the Buckingham, Browne & Nichols School in Cambridge, will play at Columbia.

In other local signings, Framingham High's Luis Rodriguez will play baseball for a two-year school, Western Oklahoma State College, and St. John's High outfielder John Andreoli will take his game to UConn.

And in soccer, Nashoba Regional's Angela Campobasso signed with Division 1 Lafayette College, and Shrewsbury High twins Nicola and Gianna D'Errico are bound for College of St. Rose.