Made for the game
This is the first of four articles profiling the Seneca Valley Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022.
ECONOMY, Beaver County — Playing football is not for everybody, but it proved to be the perfect fit for Tony DeRiggi.
"I started playing when I was seven-years-old and loved it from the first time I put a helmet on," said the 2004 Seneca Valley graduate. "I grew up in a family of Steelers fans. My grandfather, my uncles, they were all really into it."
DeRiggi described himself as a "tough, rebellious kid." Maybe it was that mentality that gave him an edge on the field. In any event, SV's varsity team made good use of it beginning in his sophomore season in 2001.
For three seasons, he was a starter and reliable playmaker at linebacker and led a staunch defensive effort that sparked an 8-3 season in 2002 which included a run to the WPIAL quarterfinals.
He went on to star at Mount Union College, a Division III national powerhouse.
DeRiggi will be inducted into the Seneca Valley Sports Hall of Fame in September.
SV's 31-14 first-round victory over Kiski Area in 2002 was the program's lone playoff win between 1998-2010.
"We had finished 3-7 the year before, but had some injuries to some of our top players," DeRiggi said. "We had a lot of talent coming back my junior year."
Much of it was on defense, for which DeRiggi made 70 tackles and three quarterback sacks as the Raiders held six of their nine opponents in the regular season to no more than eight points.
"He was big (6-foot-2, 240 pounds) and strong and was able to fill holes quickly," said Bob Ceh, SV's head coach 2000-03. "But he also got us aligned, made sure everyone was where they needed to be pre-snap. We had a group of kids who loved playing together, but it all started with Tony.“
That season ended with a playoff loss to Penn Hills.
"That was heart-breaking," said DeRiggi. "We put everything we had into that season."
He lost part of his senior season to a knee injury, which kept him from being named all-conference for the third straight year.
"My junior year was the highlight of my varsity career," he said. "But over those three seasons I wish we could've done better."
He still has much respect for Jay Bell, his position coach in high school.
"He demanded that I give everything I had and that was instrumental in my life," DeRiggi said.
Two decades later, DeRiggi has many fond memories of his days at Seneca Valley. Some came on the gridiron, but the most important ones did not.
"Seneca Valley is a big school, but there's not a ton of kids who play football, so there was a brotherhood between those that did. I made so many really good friends and I still keep in touch with a lot of them,“ he said..
"I grew up without a father, but there was always one of my friends' dads who would take me to practice or pick me up after practice."
DeRiggi's knee injury affected his options to play in college, but it worked out in his favor.
"The (college) coaches I talked to, they all wanted to know about football, what I wanted to get out of playing in college," he said. "But one coach, Larry Kehres (of Mount Union), he wanted to know what kind of man I wanted to be. I felt they really cared about me and going there was one of the best decisions I ever made."
DeRiggi started at inside linebacker for two years at Mt. Union, helping the Purple Raiders win the national title in 2005 and 2006. He earned an Ohio Athletic Conference first-team honor as a senior. During his four years, Mt. Union compiled a record of 55-3.
He earned a degree in education and now is vice president of an insurance company and also owns a contracting business. He and his wife, Monica, have a son (Dominic) and a daughter (Gianna).
Regarding his selection to the Hall of Fame, he said: "Here I am, 18 years out of high school and I get a call saying that I've been chosen. I know some of the people who have been inducted. There's a lot of great athletes and it's a great honor."
DeRiggi is grateful for those who supported him and his interests.
"My mom, Debbie, raised three kids on her own and she was always there for me, on the good days and the bad days," he said. "My two sisters, Josie and Sammy, sacrificed a lot when we were kids so I could get to my baseball and football games and practices.
"My grandfather, Dale DeRiggi, passed away a few years ago. In the 15 years I played football, he never missed one of my games."
