Former football standout Dean Cvitkovic took unusual path to Quaker Valley Hall of Fame

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, September 3, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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Dean Cvitkovic graduated from Quaker Valley almost 50 years ago.

His name still is well-known and respected in area football circles.

A 1974 QV grad, Cvitkovic is considered one of the most accomplished football players in school history.

As such, he will be inducted into the Quaker Valley Sports Hall of Fame on the weekend of Oct. 13-14. The 2023 class will be recognized Oct. 13 at the Quakers’ home football game against West Mifflin.

A banquet will be held in honor of the inductees at 11 a.m. Oct. 14 at Edgeworth Club. For ticket information, email Christina Johns at johnsc@qvsd.org.

Now a Kentucky farmer, Cvitkovic competed in the Quakers’ football program for three years. He developed into a standout wide receiver and defensive back, eventually earning a full scholarship to Morehead State.

“My accomplishments are dwarfed in comparison to our great veterans, first responders and the other QV Hall of Fame inductees,” said Cvitkovic, who mentioned his Uncle Tony, a WWII vet.

“Please keep in mind there is no patent on success, and there is no limit on what hard work can and will result in. Head straight forward with your chin up, learn from mistakes and move on. Hard work is the great equalizer that is not always fair but eventually overcomes.”

During Cvitkovic’s senior year of high school, Ken Johns Sr. was QV’s head football coach.

“Ken Johns was a godsend for me personally,” Cvitkovic said. “When no one else did, he saw God in me. I can’t explain it; he was head coach for a year and I’m thankful to this day he was.”

Cvitkovic moved into the Sewickley area with his family when he was in fifth grade. He did not have a typical childhood.

“I attended Quaker Valley until my parents got divorced,” he said. “My mother, brother, sister and I moved to Washington D.C. when I was 15. After half a school year, we moved to San Diego.

“I took it upon myself to move back to Sewickley. Our father lived in the area. I packed up a duffle bag and backpack, had eight cents in the old pocket, said goodbye and hitchhiked my way back to Sewickley. It was an educational trip to say the least.”

Upon arriving in Sewickley, Cvitkovic said his father paid a local family to allow him to live with them.

“I was embarrassed about that living situation,” Cvitkovic said. “I stayed in a friend’s care for a while, until we got an apartment then eventually bought a house because my brother and sister moved back from California.”

Cvitkovic began his college career in 1975 as a walk-on candidate at the flanker position before being moved to tight end. Following a coaching change, he was switched to defense, where he started as an outside linebacker/defensive end as a sophomore and was awarded a full scholarship.

“The first trip to Morehead on a Greyhound bus took three days,” Cvitkovic said. “At that time, there was no direct route from Pittsburgh to Morehead, Kentucky. For the first year and a-half to two years, I hitchhiked back and forth to Sewickley from Morehead (thanks to a student loan).”

Cvitkovic’s first start as a sophomore was against Marshall, which was ranked No. 10 in the country in the 1-AA preseason. Morehead, with 15 returning lettermen on a 58-man roster, won by a 34-14 score.

“They brought TV cameras from Huntingdon to Morehead; I was pumped,” Cvitkovic said.

As a senior, Cvitkovic led MSU in tackles for loss (8), amassing 43 tackles and 13 assists in a nine-game season and ultimately being named All-Ohio Valley Conference.

He started on special teams every season for the Eagles and said his most memorable moments playing football at Morehead included:

• Making it through a coaching change that saw about 60 players leave the program and being promoted to a starter with a full scholarship.

• Winning at East Tennessee State on a last-second swatted pass.

• Causing two fumbles in one game on pass deflections that resulted in turnovers.

• Being called to the conference room with the Eagles offensive coordinator and a Steelers representative (one of the Rooneys) to discuss a tryout with Pittsburgh.

“They were watching film of Phill Simms, the No. 1 draft pick of the New York Giants,” Cvitkovic said, “and somehow my name came up.”

Following a couple of surgeries, the Quaker Valley product signed with the Steelers in 1981.

At Morehead State, Cvitkovic had a concentration in science as a physical education major and earned a master’s degree in education/physical education.

He went on to coach at seven high schools and became principal at three. He is retired now and rarely has time even to watch a televised football game.

Cvitkovic is owner and president of Triple C Farms and Red River Cattle Company, located in Clay City, Ky., about 30 miles east of Lexington. It is home to the world-famous Red River Gorge and Natural Bridge.

Alongside his wife of 42 years, Cindy, and son Tyler, a former Morehead State quarterback, the Cvitkovic family farms about 1,700 acres of owned and leased land.

It is a vast assignment that includes a cow and calf operation, corn and soybean growing, timber management, investments, farm and housing real estate, custom harvesting and custom trucking.

Cvitkovic said he and his family are looking forward to the Hall of Fame weekend at QV.

“We would just like to come to the event and have fun,” he said.

Tags: Quaker Valley