Anthony Serventi didn't complain.

He didn't moan about his role as a junior running back on the North Catholic High School football team. He didn't pout. He didn't hang his head.

Instead, he worked.

It paid off for the 5-foot-11, 195-pound back who was just as big of a threat to catch the ball as he was running it during his senior year for the Trojans when he emerged as one of the most dangerous players in the WPIAL in Class 3A.

“Honestly, I do what the team needs of me,” said Serventi, a Cranberry Township resident who lives nearly a football field away from the North Catholic campus. “I think of myself as a very versatile player and wherever I fit the best to help the team, that's what I'll do.”

That including sharing time in the backfield as a senior with Eamon Straub. Still, Serventi finished his senior season with 685 yards on just 82 carries and 10 touchdowns. He was also second on the team with 20 receptions for 196 yards and two scores.

That got him noticed from colleges all over the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.

And from one unlikely Division I FCS school.

Dayton contacted Serventi, who made a visit to the campus in January. He left knowing exactly where he wanted to go and what he wanted to be.

A Flyer.

“It was my No. 1 choice by leaps and bounds,” Serventi said. “It was a great school for me athletically and academically.”

Serventi committed to the Flyers Thursday.

Seton Hill, Clarion, Gannon, Washington & Jefferson and Baldwin Wallace were also recruiting Serventi.

“It's a lot of stress that's gone,” Serventi said. “There was a lot to the process. I got it right.”

The recently graduated Serventi played three sports at North Catholic. He was on the basketball team that had its potential run to a PIAA Class 3A championship derailed by the coronavirus pandemic when the playoffs were canceled.

He also ran track for the first time last spring and was looking forward to build on his success as a sprinter and jumper this season.

Again, COVID-19 ruined those plans.

Instead, he worked out in and around his home, lifting weights, doing ladder drills and running with an open parachute behind him for resistance.

All to get better. All to ready himself for Dayton this fall.

“I've really worked on my speed and endurance,” Serventi said, adding that running with a parachute attached to one's back is just as hard as it looks. “The first couple of times is pretty rough,” he said, chuckling. “But if you keep doing it, you get used to it and it really helps.”

Serventi is prepared again to do whatever is asked of him at Dayton, even if that means biding his time again.

“I'm going to go into the season as physically and mentally prepared as possible,” he said. “If they need me to do something, they can count me in. I'll do anything they ask.”

At Dayton, Serventi will be reunited with a pair of friends who played for Seneca Valley: Jack Cook and Drew Robertson.

But Serventi will remember the friends he made at North Catholic the most for helping him get to where he is today.

“Just the talent we had was amazing,” Serventi said. “Zack Rocco was a perfect fit for our offense. Our two big guys on the line, (Dom) Prentice and (Carson) Primrose – I wouldn't have wanted to play with anyone else.”