ALLIANCE, Ohio — Tony DeRiggi wanted to be a winner, and he came to the right place to do just that.

The Seneca Valley graduate recently completed his senior season as an inside linebacker for the Mount Union College football team.

The Purple Raiders, considered one of the most successful programs in all of college football, reached the NCAADivision III national title game this season, dropping a 31-21 decision to Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Mount Union was a two-time defending Division IIIchampion and won 55 of 58 games during DeRiggi's four-year career there.

Mount Union has won nine national championships in the past 15 years and has captured 16 consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference crowns.

"They bring in a lot of players here every year,"DeRiggi said. "There's usually 200 guys on the team, 50 per class, and they all buy into the system."

Mount Union finished 12-1, 14-1, 15-0 and 14-1 over the past four seasons.

Defensive coordinator Vince Kehres said the coaching staff seeks "good men with a passion for football who are accountable and responsible toward academics.

"That describes Tony really well,"Kehres added.

DeRiggi suffered a sprained MCLduring his senior season at Seneca Valley. The injury caused him to miss only two games.

But it caused a lot of Division I coaches to disappear from his recruiting trail.

"Once those guys see you're injured, they write you off if you're a senior,"DeRiggi said. "The only DivisionI offer I had on the table was from Kent State.

"I opted for Division IIIMount Union because I wanted to win. I was only on one winning team in high school and that stood out in my memory. I wanted more of that."

Seneca Valley finished 8-3 and reached the second round of the WPIALplayoffs during DeRiggi's junior year.

He was made a team captain for his senior season, when the Raiders went 2-8.

"It's tough being a captain in a situation like that,"DeRiggi said. "It wasn't much fun."

The 6-foot-2, 234-pound inside linebacker wound up being a two-year starter for Mount Union. He was second on the team in tackles this year, collecting 31 solo stops, 47 assists, nine tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and three forced fumbles.

DeRiggi seemingly lived in the weight room, causing Kehres to put him in charge of that facility for all of Mount Union's athletic programs.

On the field, DeRiggi has made the calls and checkoffs for Mount Union's defense the past two years.

Off the field, he oversees the development of the Purple Raiders' younger players in the weight room.

"It's something I take very seriously," he said. "This is a way I can be sure there are well-developed players coming up to sustain our team's success."

DeRiggi will graduate next fall with a degree in early childhood education. He is going to be a graduate assistant coach with the football team during spring drills.

His goal is to return home, teach elementary school and get into high school football coaching.

"Football has been such a positive sport for me and has had such an effect on my life,"he said. "I want to be able to influence kids the right way, like I was."

DeRiggi is hopeful his football playing years aren't over. He plans to participate in Pro Day at Bowling Green (Ohio)University in late February and show what he's got to professional scouts.

"I know I'm not going to get drafted or anything like that," he said. "But if I can even get a free agent tryout or a spot on an arena league team ... I'll do anything to keep playing this game."