Woodland Hills football lost its biggest supporter with the unexpected death last week of Paul Sperduto.

The 23-year-old former All-Conference tackle from Forest Hills never really left the program. His hulking 6-foot-2, 300-plus-pound figure stayed close to the team and the district's athletic programs even while he was in college.

Friends and relatives said he died of complications of the flu he had last spring. The bug left him with a virus that affected his heart, said his friend and employer Pat Lanigan, proprietor of the Patrick T. Lanigan Funeral Home in East Pittsburgh.

Over the summer months Mr. Sperduto's body continued to retain water, weakening him.

On Thursday he was taken to the hospital. He went into cardiac arrest, and he died the next day.

"We thought he was getting better. He even came to a couple of home games this season," said Woodland Hills football Coach George Novak.

"He was part of our family, our football family," the coach continued. "He was close to all the other players and coaches."

Mr. Sperduto continued to volunteer his knowledge with athletes throughout the district.

He was a staff assistant football coach at the high school and he coached the junior high team. He also helped with the high school wrestling and track teams, with little league baseball and the rugby team.

In his playing days, Mr. Sperduto was an imposing offensive tackle who helped the Wolverines win consecutive WPIAL championships in 2001 and 2002.

Mr. Novak and the team knew he was ill this year. The team, which won last Saturday's game, planned to visit him in the hospital after the game.

Instead, the team, dressed in their game jerseys, paid their respects Monday evening at the Lanigan Funeral Home, Mr. Sperduto's official place of work since high school.

"He was a warm, Teddy bear type of personality. Joyful with an easy smile, always considerate of others," Mr. Lanigan said.

During summer months, Mr. Sperduto worked at Camp Highlander, a youth retreat in North Carolina.

"He was a great advocate for the youth," Mr. Lanigan said.

Mr. Sperduto, the youngest of four children, had followed the footsteps of older brother Joseph, who was a linebacker on the Wolverines' 1996 championship team.

Rounding the family of Wolverines was Paul's sister, Rachel, who was a cheerleader at Woody High.

In those days, the football program's biggest supporter was their mother, Patricia "Trish" Sperduto, whose untimely death 13 years ago came during a game at the Wolvarena when she suffered a fatal aneurysm.

Mr. Novak gave as much credit to the spirit of Trish Sperduto as he did to his players for the team's turnaround that year.

The Wolverines began the season with a record of 2-3, but went on to win the WPIAL title after Trish's death.

"We believe she was watching over us," Mr. Novak said.

He added that he expects Paul Sperduto will do the same. The team has dedicated the remainder of the season to his memory.

All of the players will wear Paul's old No. 77 on their helmets the rest of the year, the coach said.

Mr. Sperduto is survived by his father, Richard Sperduto; his brothers, Joseph of Monroeville and James Sperduto of Monongahela; his sister, Rachel Ganster, of Virginia; and his maternal grandparents, Patrick and Gracie Fowler, of Tennessee.

Funeral mass will be at 10 a.m. today at St. Maurice Church in Forest Hills.

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