In a time when football had not featured quite as much passing as seen today, former Capital quarterback Rocky Pentello broke the mold, leading an aerial attack that kept opposing OAC defensive coordinators and players awake at night. The 6-foot, 1-inch signal caller holds nearly every Cap passing record in the book and may for some time to come.
After making one appearance in 2002 with 91 yards and a touchdown, Pentello took over the starting job in 2003 and let the ball fly 361 times with 242 completions for 3,083 yards and 28 touchdowns. Pentello was named All-OAC Second Team, All-Region First Team and was a Third-Team All-American selection in a season which Capital went 8-2.
The 2004 season resulted in a Second Team All-OAC nod behind 2,599 passing yards and 18 passing touchdowns, which set in motion a determination to make his junior season one of the best a Capital quarterback had ever seen.
He did just that, setting a then-career high with 3,171 passing yards. He also completed a career-best 277 passes and led his receivers to the end zone 28 times. Pentello received his third All-OAC second team bid in 2005 as he led Capital to its first NCAA playoff appearance since 1987 and the first 10-win season in program history.
The Crusaders reached the NCAA Playoffs again in 2006 which proved to be Pentello's most prolific offensive season. The senior completed 262-of-409 passes for 3,625 yards and 36 scores, both school records. His performances finally earned him a spot on the All-OAC first team and he received his second All-American award. He also received the OAC's Mike Gregory Award, given annually to the conference's best offensive lineman or back. Capital won 11 games in 2006, a program record.
Over his five years, Pentello amassed 12,569 passing yards, 12,126 yards of total offense, 1,011 completions and 111 touchdowns, all program records. He holds the single-season records for total offense (3,508 yards, 2006), passing yards (3,625, 2006), completions (277, 2005) and passing touchdowns (36, 2006). He occupies the top three slots on the total offense and passing yards single-season leaderboards. Not only did he fill up his stat sheet but Pentello quarterbacked the Crusaders to a 36-10 overall record in his time.
