The Hudson Valley has seen its share of winning players in the Super Bowl, and this Sunday we could see another..

Ali Marpet is living a dream. On Sunday, he'll play in the biggest game of his football life.

The Hastings-on-Hudson product will take the field with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. “I think because it's been so hard to get here, it makes this moment that much more precious, if you will. I feel very grateful for being here,” says Marpet.

As an offensive lineman, Marpet has one of the most important jobs on the team - protecting future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady.

Marpet has come a long way since his days at Hastings High School.

He was a standout player for the Yellow Jackets, and then again at Division III Hobart College.

Despite playing at small schools, Marpet's worked his way to the sport’s biggest game. “Once he had confidence, he was good. He put everything into it. He was always the first one at the gym in the morning, the last one to leave. He's still like that,” says his father, Bill Marpet.

“I thought all along he was special, maybe a smaller Division I. To be that caliber player in the NFL, we didn't think that was going to happen,” says Steve Yurek, Hastings' football assistant coach from 1998 to 201.

Marpet got the call from the Bucs in 2015 as a second-round draft choice - the highest ever for any Division III player. “Certain times I just thought making the 53--man roster, then starting. I had different goals along the way so this whole thing has been really cool and really exciting for me,” says Marpet.

Hanging in the Hastings gymnasium are Marpet's high school and Buccaneers jerseys.