Ponaganset High School Athletic Hall of Fame
Induction Class of 2015
Anthony Sasso
Athlete
Class of 1991
Football & Hockey
Anthony Sasso is well known in the Ponaganset community and across Rhode Island for being a tough, skilled, passionate, emotional athlete. He is the definition of a hard-nosed competitor.
Starring on the football field for Ponaganset High School from 1987 until graduation in 1991, he was a key component in the program’s newfound success. Before his arrival, the team saw only one winning season in the first 27 years of the program. In his final two years as the star running back, Anthony willed his team to back-to-back divisional championships, the first two in school history. He also led the team to its first Division III Super Bowl in 1989, scoring the program’s first-ever Super Bowl touchdown. He is a member of the prestigious 1000-yard club and was a two-time all-division running back as one of the most reliable athletes to ever play at Ponaganset.
Anthony also played ice hockey for the Chieftains. He was a forward who scored seven goals and was the emotional leader of the vaunted checking line, whose physicality brought a toughness to the team. He helped his squad to an undefeated season and state championship his senior year.
Upon graduating from Ponaganset High School, Anthony attended CCRI and earned his associates degree in 1996. He graduated from the Rhode Island Municipal Police Academy in 1997 and later attended Roger Williams University, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. He is presently a detective on the Johnston Police Department, where he has worked for more than 20 years.
Today, Anthony continues to give back to the community that helped to mold him by giving back to its youth. He has coached Ponaganset football on and off over the past two decades and presently resides in Johnston with his beautiful daughter, Kennedy.