2023 Inductee Jalen Santoro, 2013
Jalen Santoro is one of the most decorated male athletes to ever walk the halls of Bellevue High School. He earned 12 varsity letters for the Redmen – four each in football, basketball, and track & field. He was twice named the Bellevue Gazette Award winner as the top male athlete at BHS, in 2012 and 2013, and also took home the Michael K. Bosi Award as Athlete of the Year from the Fremont News-Messenger. Jalen graduated in 2013.
In track & field as a junior, he was Northern Ohio League long jump champion along with NOL titles with the 4 x 100 and 4 x 200 relay teams. The Redmen won the team title in 2012 and Jalen earned 100-point club honors and was top gun jumper and top gun sprinter that season. As a senior, he repeated those two honors as a member of the 200-point club and was also named as the Jon Martin Award winner.
In basketball, Jalen was first team All-NOL and District 6 as a sophomore, junior, and senior and was also Second Team All-NW Ohio his senior year. He led the team in scoring all three seasons and was team MVP all three years. He scored 1,159 career points which is fourth-best in school history. He was team captain in 2012 and 2013. His 452 points in one season still ranks seventh best all-time.
In football, Jalen led the Redmen to the State Championship game his senior season. He was All-NOL Honorable Mention as a sophomore, All-NOL second team and All-District Second Team as a junior, and was First Team NOL and District, was Player of the Year in the NW District, and was First Team All-Ohio and Player of the Year as a senior.
As a junior, he was the first quarterback in Redmen history to throw and run for over 1,000 yards in a season. He led the NOL in completions (69%), scoring touchdowns (22) and helped the Redmen to the state playoffs as a junior. His senior year he recorded eight records: most TD’s in one season (32), career TD’s (66), rushing attempts in one game (45), rushing yards in one season (2,249), career rushing yards (4,641), rushing TD’s in one season (31), most TD’s in one game (six), most rushing TD’s in one game (six), and ended with the most all-purpose yards in a career (8,053). He led the NOL in scoring and was named team MVP, was team captain, tied the State Championship Game record with three passing TD’s, led the Redmen to a school-record 13 wins, and was named Fandy.Com Player of the Year.
He played five seasons and started four years in college at Tiffin University as wide receiver and was team captain his final three seasons. He received the Oar Award for best leader as a member of the Dragons football squad.
After being on the Bellevue Redmen football and basketball coaching staff after college, Jalen is now head football coach at Perkins High School.
Jalen resides in Sandusky, Ohio.
Dennis Sabo introduces 2013 graduate Jalen Santoro.