At 58, Tom Cillo is tackling his dream of playing college football at Lycoming

WILLIAMSPORT — The shouts of “Yeah, Tom!” started the moment Tom Cillo stepped onto the field at Girardi Stadium.

After a couple of bounces to expend some of the nervous energy and a playful cup of his left ear toward the crowd, the oldest freshman nose tackle in the country dropped down into a three-point stance. He glanced across the line of scrimmage at King’s College freshman center Anthony D’Antonio, four decades younger than the 58-year-old Cillo.

“What’s up, Tom?” D’Antonio said, extending his hand out of respect. Cillo returned the favor.

A few seconds later, D'Antonio snapped the ball and surged toward Cillo, who at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds is “small” only by football’s outsized standards. The whistle soon sounded to signal the end of the play following a short gain.

In that mo