VALPARAISO | More than 30 years after helping to lead Valparaiso High School to a state football championship, Mark Allen still looked fit enough to put on a helmet and trot onto the football field.

But the 51-year-old Valparaiso resident was found dead in his mother's Valparaiso home Monday morning after having complained of chest pain hours earlier.

Allen gained prominence locally when he helped lead the Vikings to a 12-0 season in 1975, capped with a 14-13 victory over Carmel in the state championship game.

He played in college at Cincinnati and Arizona, and was moved to defensive back. At Arizona, he played on a team that lost to Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl. He also had a stint as a professional football player in the USFL, and also had a 10-day tryout with the Chicago Bears.

Allen, who worked in construction, was also an active member of the Hilltop neighborhood.

For the past five years, he served as a liaison between Hilltop and the Valparaiso Police Department. In that role, Allen worked with police to keep crime out and arrange proactive programs like presentations by police officers. Allen also completed the 10-week Citizens Police Academy in Valparaiso, learning how the Police Department operates.

"Mark worked hard to improve the quality of life (in the community)," Valparaiso Police Chief Michael Brickner said.

Brickner described Allen as a positive person of boundless energy who worked hard and looked out for his family. Allen also had a role in "To Kill a Mockingbird" in 2002 in Valparaiso.

Allen, who came to Valparaiso from the Cabrini Green housing projects in Chicago at age 12, is a 1976 Valparaiso High School graduate.