The seventh and eighth grade football players at St. Sebastian School in Ross gathered at the school's annual sports banquet three years ago and watched as former St. Sebastian player Mike Czerwien was inducted into the school's sports hall of fame.

They had known about Czerwien the football player, the dominating defensive end who went on to North Hills High School and Waynesburg University.

By the time the induction was over, the seventh and eighth graders got to know Czerwien the person.

Czerwien died last Tuesday after collapsing while working at a part-time construction job.

He left behind a long list of football accolades, but his love for the sport and his desire to remain involved with the youth around the area left as much of a lasting impression as what he did on the field.

At his induction to the St. Sebastian Sports Hall of Fame, Czerwien used his time on the dais to address the seventh and eighth grade players.

"They were going through this long list of Michaels' accomplishments and he is standing there so humble," said Dan Zangaro, Czerwien's coach at St. Sebastian.

"He was almost embarrassed that all these things happened to him. When it came time for him to address the audience, he turned toward the seventh and eighth grade boys and gave a speech for 10 minutes and never took his eyes off of them. He just wanted to focus on the kids.

"That is the kind of guy he was. All those football accolades he has do not even measure up to the man he was."

On the field, Czerwien was known for his ferocious defensive play that earned him four consecutive first-team All-Presidents' Athletic Conference selections while at Waynesburg and a private workout with the Indianapolis Colts after graduation. Czerwien set an NCAA all-divisions' record with 52 1/2 career sacks.

In high school, Czerwien was an all-conference player before graduating from North Hills in 2004.

"I am good friends with a lot of North Hills' coaches and I told them they had no idea what was coming," Zangaro said.

"His first four steps off the ball were like none I have ever seen before. There are not many times you go to a football game and watch and focus on a defensive lineman, but that is what happened when Michael played. He was just so unbelievable."

Czerwien stood only 5 feet 8 and weighed 225 pounds but when he arrived at Waynesburg, he managed to break into the starting lineup as a freshman.

After graduating, Czerwien remained at Waynesburg and stayed involved with football. He was pursuing a master's degree while serving as a part-time defensive ends coach for the Yellow Jackets.

His biography in the school's football media guide describes him as "one of the greatest players in the long history of Waynesburg football" and characterized his senior year as "maybe the greatest season ever by a Waynesburg defensive end."

Czerwien was ready to earn his master's degree in business administration and ready to realize a goal of becoming a full-time college football coach.

As a defensive end at the school, Czerwien rewrote the school's defensive record book. During his senior year in 2007, he was fourth in all divisions with 23 sacks and was selected the Presidents' Athletic Conference player of the year. He finished his career with 273 career tackles and 861/2 career tackles for a loss, the fifth most all-time in college football.

Friends and families said goodbye to Czerwien Monday at a funeral service at St. Sebastian Church. Some current St. Sebastian and North Hills players wore football jerseys in his memory.

Even while at Waynesburg, Czerwien still stayed close to the St. Sebastian football program. During his sophomore year he was invited back to be an honorary captain for the annual rivalry game against St. Teresa.

"I told him I can't tell him how much it means to the kids for him to come back for the game," Zangaro said.

"He just said 'You don't mind if I stay and watch the game do you?' He was just a special kid."

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