Yough High School graduate Craig Sedunov originally had plans of fulfilling his dream by playing big-time college football at Pitt.

But what he ultimately found was that Washington & Jefferson College offered some things Pitt couldn't.

Sedunov was an all-conference talent at Yough, playing running back, receiver and defensive back as part of a three-sport career that also had him stand out in basketball and baseball before graduating in 2007.

Standing shorter than 6 feet tall in high school, bigger schools shied away from the speedster, but Sedunov attended Pitt football camps and elected to attend Pitt and try to walk on to the Panthers.

"I enrolled right away, then went the first days [of preseason training camp, before classes began] and saw that it wasn't going to work out," Sedunov said.

So Sedunov talked to his brother, Mike, who was playing for the Presidents at the time.

One thing led to another, a happy-to-oblige W&J coach Mike Sirianni helped facilitate his enrolling at W&J and that very same fall, Craig was already starting and playing a prominent role for the Presidents.

Sedunov clearly feels as if things have worked out for the best.

"Coming in, like a lot of players, I thought I could play at Pitt," Sedunov said. "But it didn't go right. So when I came in, I worked pretty hard and everyone at W&J was so nice and our team loves each other and everyone's real close on the team.

"That was something that sticks out for me from the moment I got here. Everyone cares about everyone else -- offense and defense, everybody's talking to each other all the time. It's a real close-knit team."

Sedunov is one of the top players on what is one of the top defenses in the nation for NCAA Division III. He leads the Presidents in total tackles (521/2), solo tackles (39), interceptions (five) and passes defended (nine) and was named Presidents Athletic Conference player of the week after W&J's 49-7 win against Westminster three weeks ago.

Washington & Jefferson ranks sixth in the nation in total defense (241 yards per game) and eighth in scoring defense (9.7 points per game). The Presidents lead the PAC in both of those categories and in opponents passing efficiency and pass defense.

And defense is easily the biggest reason why the Presidents are 9-1 and ranked No. 20 nationally in Division III by D3football.com.

In the Presidents' 4-2-5 scheme, the three safeties are often the biggest playmakers. The top three tacklers on the team are the safeties, and all three are from Western Pennsylvania. Sedunov plays free safety, Hopewell High School graduate Nathan Harmotto strong safety and Geibel alum and Perryopolis native Mitch Erdely the weak safety.

"Their safeties are unbelievable players," said Thomas More coach Jim Hilvert, who handed the Presidents their only loss this season. "They do a great job recognizing the run and the pass, and they come up and they will hit you.

"They definitely cause problems in running situations when they're up in the box and aggressive. You can't get past them. They're also a great matchup in the passing game. They can run with anybody, any receiver, any running back. Those guys give people problems. They're very, very athletic."

Last season, Sedunov, now 6 feet, 190 pounds, was a D3Football.com third-team All-South Region player and was first-team All-PAC after leading the Presidents in tackles as they advanced to the second round of the NCAA national playoffs.

He also was honorable mention All-PAC as a freshman and, to date, has been part of teams that compiled a 30-4 overall record, been part of three national playoff teams and a conference championship squad.

"It's worked out well," Sedunov said. "I've grown so much as a player over these past two years."

The Presidents received a bid to the NCAA playoffs this past weekend and will play Mount Union, the top seed and a perennial title contender, at noon this Saturday at Mount Union.

Mount Union, the No. 1-ranked team, has won 10 NCAA Division III national championships, including six since 2000. The Purple Raiders won their 18th consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference championship and earned the league's automatic bid.

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