Son of former Gamecock quarterback is the ‘heart and soul’ of Dutch Fork’s defense
Williams-Brice Stadium has been a special place for the DeMasi family through the years.
Dickie DeMasi played college football there while at South Carolina in the late 1980s and has been a Gamecocks season ticket holder. Anthony DeMasi grew up going to games with his father and can cap off his high school career with a title at the stadium.
“It is like a second home. It is close by. We go up every Saturday there and go there to watch Carolina play,” Anthony DeMasi said this week about Williams-Brice.
Anthony DeMasi is a starting linebacker for Dutch Fork, which plays Dorman Saturday at noon in the Class 5A championship game. The Silver Foxes are going for their fourth straight title, which would tie a state record for most consecutive.
Dickie said it will be bittersweet seeing his son take the field at Williams-Brice for the last time.
“Certainly loved playing at Carolina and going to games there together. Then to have Anthony play his last game there. It has been a good run,” Dickie said.
DeMasis are a football family
The DeMasis are a football family. Anthony’s grandfather, Richard DeMasi Jr., was a longtime rec football coach at Seven Oaks Park in Columbia before he died in 2014. Dickie played football at Irmo before going to South Carolina where he appeared in four games during his junior year in 1989.
So it was only natural Anthony would pick up the game in the third grade and share his love for it with his father. Most weeks, the two watch game film at home together.
It hasn’t always been easy for Anthony. In seventh grade, he was cut from his middle school team.
But he switched from running back to linebacker heading into high school and has been a starter the past two seasons despite being a undersized for the position.
“I’m quick and strong, that pretty much sums it up right there,” Anthony, who’s 5-9 and 180 pounds, said. “I have to be quicker than the bigger boys out there.”
DeMasi the ‘heart and soul’ of Dutch Fork defense
Dutch Fork coach Tom Knotts called DeMasi the “heart and soul” of the Dutch Fork defense, which gives up just 9.1 points and 193 yards per game. But Knotts had his doubts when defensive coordinator Nick Pelham said they were moving DeMasi into the starting lineup going into his junior season.
“I said you are going to do what?” Knotts remembers. “He was about 150 pounds (at the time) and I said he isn’t ready, trust me. But coach Pelham said he worked with him and he will be ready. And the rest is history.
“He’s got great instincts, a strong desire and is very competitive. He’s also not scared to hit.”
As a junior, DeMasi had 94 tackles and was second on the team with five sacks. This season, DeMasi has been used more in coverage, so his sack numbers are down. But he leads the team with 132 tackles and has 10 quarterback hurries.
DeMasi has played both inside and outside linebacker and Knotts thinks he could also play defensive back in college. DeMasi, who was selected for this month’s Metro Bowl, said he hopes to play in college but first wants to finish his high school career at place he knows so well.
“It is big. We are going for a four-peat,” Anthony said. “We’ve been working since May to get here and we want to go out strong.”
SC football championship schedule
A look at SC High School Football state championship schedule for Dec. 7
Saturday
At Williams-Brice Stadium
Class 5A
Dorman vs. Dutch Fork, noon
Class 3A
Chapman vs. Dillon, 3 p.m.
Class 4A
Wren vs. Myrtle Beach, 6:30 p.m.
Tickets: $12 in advance and at the gate. Advance tickets sold at participating schools only.
GoFan for online tickets https://gofan.co/app/school/SCHSL
Watch: Saturday’s Dutch Fork-Dorman game will be carried locally on WACH Fox 57 and the rest of Saturday’s games will be locally on WACH Fox 57.2 or Spectrum 1250. All three games Saturday will be carried throughout state on WMYA (MyTV/Greenville/Spartanburg), WCIV (MyTV/Charleston) and WWMB (CW Channel/Myrtle Beach, Florence).
Saturday’s games also will be streamed on www.nfhsnetwork.com (Subscription required.)
This story was originally published December 6, 2019 at 3:18 PM.
