Post by Gene on Jun 14, 2007 15:23:32 GMT -5
With his no-nonsense approach, defensive lineman Adam Vogel helps the Express reach the Northern Conference title game for the second year in a row.
By Brian Rippey
Reading Eagle
6/14/2007
He isn’t dancing on the field, celebrating sacks or even arousing the crowd.
Reading Express defensive lineman Adam Vogel just quietly goes about his work and rarely gets noticed, except by opposing players and fans.
“I just like hitting people,” Vogel said. “My thing is to be intense. I really just like to destroy things. I definitely like bringing the pain.”
For the second straight year, the 6-4, 260-pound Vogel was voted to the American Indoor Football Association Northern Conference all-star team by the coaches. Last year, he was voted Defensive Lineman of the Year.
Vogel will take his no-nonsense approach into the Sovereign Center for the Northern Conference championship game, which pits the Express (15-2) against Canton (11-4) Saturday night at 7.
The winner will advance to the AIFA championship game Saturday, June 23, in Florence, S.C.
“We’re two weeks from doing what we want to do,” Vogel said. “Right now all we can worry about and care about is Canton. We’re not looking forward to anything else. Right now we’ve got to take care of business.”
Vogel, an Indiana State product, has been with the Express since the start.
After trying out for the Evansville (Ill.) BlueCats in 2005, Vogel was talked into becoming a member of the Express’ inaugural team by former coach Ollie Guidry.
Although Guidry moved on after one season, Vogel wanted to stay to finish what he and his teammates started.
In order to live in Reading during the season, Vogel holds down a full-time job with Keystone Interior Systems hanging drywall and doing other commercial construction.
“I love playing with them, they’re all great guys,” said Vogel, who leads the Express in sacks and tackles for losses. “We all pull for each other. We all play together, stay positive and stay on each other.”
The family-like atmosphere has helped the Express win back-to-back regular-season conference championships while going 28-5.
But one of the losses, a 44-24 setback to Canton in last year’s conference title game in the Sovereign Center, was devastating to Vogel and most of his teammates.
The Express had won 12 straight before getting knocked off by the Legends one win short of playing for the league title.
“They’re a good challenge for us,” Vogel said. “They’ve got some good receivers. We trust our DBs; they’ve done such a good job this year. Our job to help them is to get pressure. As long as we do that, they’ll take care of us by playing them tight.”
•Contact Brian Rippey at 610-371-5070 or brippey@readingeagle.com.