It wasn't a long all-star game stint, but it was memorable.

Michael Monteleone, a Quigley Catholic graduate and Monaca High School football player, was selected to play for Pennsylvania in the annual Penn-Ohio Classic June 27. He thought he'd be a reserve but found himself starting on the offensive line for Pennsylvania in the game at West Branch High School in Ohio.

His time on the field lasted all of one play.

"I got tossed out," Monteleone said sheepishly. "I wasn't very smart. I said something I shouldn't have said."

He said he didn't direct his comments toward an opposing player or an official. Obviously, one of the guys with a yellow flag thought differently.

"When I get angry, I sometimes just say things. It's not something I'm proud of, but it happened," he said.

It was, however, an appropriate ending to an unconventional high school football career for Monteleone.

Despite his size -- Monteleone is 6 feet 5 and 290 pounds -- he played just one season for Monaca. But that didn't hinder him from earning a scholarship to IUP, where he will probably play offensive tackle.

"I never played organized football before my senior year," he said. "People kept telling me I should play, but I didn't know I had the opportunity."

Some clarification is needed.

Monteleone, who lives in Cranberry, attended Quigley, which does not have a football team. Quigley does have a co-operative agreement with Monaca that any student who wants to play football can do so in a Monaca uniform. But Monteleone didn't know that until this past school year.

"The principal at Quigley wasn't into sports and the process [of being able to play for Monaca] wasn't advertised much," he said. "When I found out I could play for Monaca, I figured I'd give it a try."

When Monaca coach Sam Cercone went to Quigley to see if any students there were interested in playing for the Indians, he was surprised to see Monteleone.

"At his size he stood out, especially when the other players were 5-8 and 5-9," Cercone said. "I called Brock [Grady, a Quigley student who played for Monaca the previous season] over and said we needed to keep him [Monteleone] interested."

Monteleone, who had always been an avid weightlifter, earned a starting spot on the offensive line for Monaca. His size, strength and athletic ability fit in well with the Indians' run-first, pass-second philosophy.

And it didn't take him long to learn the offensive plays.

"Once he picked things up, he did a good job," Cercone said. "I'd say the sky is the limit for him at IUP. I don't think he has an ounce of fat on his body."

Monteleone enjoyed playing football from the very beginning. He liked the contact and the game's physical nature.

That he had been involved in martial arts training at Tri-County Soccer & Sports Fitness Center in Freedom helped. He is now into cross-fit training, a more military type of training.

"I've bench pressed 430, 440 [pounds]," he said. "I've done 315 pounds, 15 reps."

His combination of size, strength and speed is what attracted IUP and other schools. Seton Hill, New Hampshire, Youngstown State and Kent State were also interested in him for football. He is going to IUP because he wants to stay close to home.

"He went to the Metro Index Camp in December and that's when things really took off," Cercone said. "That's when everybody got interested in him."

Monteleone said IUP coaches have told him he has a good chance to see playing time this coming season if he learns the plays quickly. But Cercone said a redshirt year might be more beneficial.

"That would give him a chance to just learn the game and it might be a good thing," he said. "But then, look what he has done in just one year."

The Penn-Ohio Classic notwithstanding.