Johnny Ray, a star athlete at Moore Catholic, crashed his parents’ 2004 Chevy truck into a utility pole on Father Capodanno Boulevard in Midland Beach, Staten Island and died Saturday night.

The 16-year old varsity football and baseball player hydroplaned after a hitting a puddle on the rain-soaked road near Slater Blvd and lost control of the vehicle just before 8 p.m., according to Moore football coach Greg Rocco. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

In the car with Ray was a 16-year old male friend who was transported by EMS to SI University North Hospital in stable condition, according to police. The Mavericks had just won their homecoming game, 52-0, over Henry Snyder (N.J) earlier that afternoon to improve to 7-0.

“I don’t think I understood the word tragedy until I got the phone call from his mother at 12:30 last night,” Rocco said. “He was a tremendous kid.”

Ray was a rising star on the gridiron and the baseball field. The 6-foot, 175-pound wide receiver was receiving attention from Division I schools, even before his highlight tape had been completed and sent out.

Rocco said he was already getting letters from Rutgers. While he didn’t play much in the team’s victory on Saturday because of the lopsided score, he had 184 all-purpose yards, including an 80-yard kickoff return for a score and the winning touchdown catch in a 16-14 victory over Long Island Lutheran on Oct. 3. The middle infielder was a highly touted prospect on the diamond also.

“We just completed his highlight film,” Rocco said. “We were going to send it out…He would have gotten flooded with letters.”

The coach talked about Ray’s contagious smile. He was liked by all regardless of age or gender, the coach calling him one of the most popular kids in the Graniteville school. Funeral arraignments have yet to be made and the the Mavericks game against Pope Pius X (Pa.) on Oct. 31 has been canceled, Rocco said.

“My focus is now on our football players, our team and our school,” he said.