Catholic Central graduate, Wittenberg football player dies at 20

A moment of silence for Catanzaro, 20, was held at the Catholic Central boys basketball game against West Liberty-Salem at Jason Collier Gymnasium and the Wittenberg men’s basketball game against Bryant-Stratton at Pam Evans Smith Arena on Friday night.

At Catholic Central, this was read by the public address announcer: “Cossy, a 2017 graduate of Catholic Central, excelled as a four-year member of the football, baseball and basketball teams. He was also a Kairos leader and recipient of the prestigious Gold Shoe Award. Through his attitude and passion, Cossy truly exemplified what it means to be a Catholic Central student-athlete. He will forever be remembered as a loving son, brother and friend to all.”

Catanzaro lettered last fall in his second season with the Wittenberg football team. He was a third-string tight end and longsnapper. His brother Dominic, a linebacker also from Catholic Central, is a freshman on the team.

“Cossy was a great kid,” Wittenberg coach Joe Fincham said. “He was really respected and liked equally by his teammates. He was that type of kid campus wide. The Catholic Central family is a very tight-knit group of people. There were a stream of people coming into the ER when we were there. It was heartbreaking, but it’s such an impressive community. Cossy was a hard worker. He always came to practice, weightlifting, whatever it was. People just liked being around him. I did, too.”