Figel to play football at Division III?school

By MIKE MATHISON, sports editor
WINTERSVILLE — If there was one thing that impressed Indian Creek football coach Andrew Connor about three-year starting offensive lineman Jonathan Figel during this past season, it was how the captain morphed into a different leader for the Redskins.

“We inserted him when he was a sophomore into a veteran offensive line and he never missed a game for us,” said Connor, who is entering his sixth season. “He’s always been a leader by example. There’s never been anybody who outworked Jonathan since he’s been here.

“But, the one thing that was different was he became a vocal leader. When we got off to a rough start, Jonathan took it personally.

“I think after the UL game, a bunch of those seniors realized the season was slipping away. We had played with no emotion. It was kind of a lackluster effort. I told them they had to decide where they wanted the season to go. If they wanted this to be a season that everyone would forget about, then we’re on course. If they wanted this to be something where people said they rallied and proved their character, then they had to become leaders.

“He decided that he was going to come out of that shell and be somebody that was vocal and we really needed that. We were slumping there. When you have your two-year letterman and two-year starter going into his senior year, he’s got to step up and I was very proud of the fact he took the bull by the horns and did something that was out of his character.

“That was a shot in the arm. From that point on the offensive line really kicked it into high gear and we started to run the football. After that everything kind of became better.

“He’s a great kid. I knew it was in there. When you talked to him, you could feel how much he wanted to do well for this school. It just sunk in. When you watched him play with the emotion at Harrison and the emotion against Ferry, seeing that, you could see that the other kids fed off that. He was one of the kids they all respected because they knew how hard he’d worked and how important he was to the football program here.”

The Redskins were 1-3 after the loss to Union Local and then won three of their last four, with the one loss coming to Harrison Central in overtime, while working toward a 5-5 finish.

Figel, the son of Dr. John and Bonnie Figel of Mingo Junction, will continue his academic and athletic careers at Capital University, where he will play football for the Division III program.

“I have a lot of family in Columbus and I’ve always liked being out there,” said Figel, who will study either physical therapy or education. “I’ve had three cousins who’ve graduated from Capital and I’ve always felt comfortable out there.

“Every time I went there it seemed like everyone had a good experience and it seems like a nice place.”

Figel’s choice came down to Capital or Washington and Jefferson, two highly successful collegiate programs. The Crusaders have been to the playoffs each of the past three seasons. They lost in the quarterfinals two years ago to eventual champion Mount Union.

Capital lost in the first round last season to eventual national champ UW-Whitewater.

“Playing football in college really entered my mind when I was a junior,” said Figel. “When I was younger I wasn’t sure if I was going to play. I love football so much I decided to go to college, get an education and do what I love to do, which is play football.

“I felt Capital was a better fit for me. When I went to their practices, it was very business-like. They went in, got things done. I like the way the coaches ran the practices. It seems to be a good, solid place.”

“Jonathan was one of those kids who lived to be an Indian Creek Redskin,” said Connor. “That means a lot when you have a program that’s only in its 15th year and you’re trying to build tradition ... he waited for this, he waited to be a football player here, he waited to have his senior year.

“I think he saw it slipping away and said ‘I’m not going to let this happen — not while I’m a senior and not while I’m a captain.’ And, boy, it really showed toward the end, especially those last four games.”

“I want to thank all my coaches for all the time they put in,” said Figel. “It takes a lot of time and effort. They’re always away from their families. I also want to thank my teammates, all the other captains, Mike Wilson, Ryan Galvin and Jarret Mossor. If you needed a different type of leader, we had them.

“Mike always had his head on his shoulders, always knew what he was doing. Galvin was the motivational leader, he really got guys pumped up before games and without him we wouldn’t have had half the energy we had. Mossor has a quiet, reserved personality about him, but he’s an extremely good football player.

“Most of all, I want to thank my family. If it wasn’t for them and all their support, I probably would have never gotten into football.

“Countless times where my mom has decorated my room before games and my sister always coming back from Columbus to watch my games and, my dad always being there, medically, or whatever else I needed.”



(Mathison can be contacted at mmathison@heraldstaronline.com)