By Stu Swartz
Now, Fairfield High School junior Derek Vogelzang knows how Mom and Dad felt.
Derek created a unique family of “firsts” last Friday by kicking the winning extra point with 0:05 to play as the football Falcons defeated the Bremen Lions, 28-27.
That 20-yard boot gave the Falcons their first sectional championship in the 41-year history of the school’s varsity football program.
It just so happens that Derek’s father, Dan Vogelzang, played for the first Northridge High School boys basketball team to win a sectional crown in 1975.
And Derek’s mother, Regina (Erb) Vogelzang, played for the first Fairfield girls athletic team to win a sectional championship — the Lady volleyball Falcons of 1979.
Derek, a 5-7 (133) receiver and kicker, has caught two touchdown passes to go with 35 extra points and two field goals for a total of 53 points for the 10-2 Falcons.
Fairfield makes the long journey to Rensselaer, in the middle of Jasper County, for a Class 2A regional game at 8 tonight (our time).
Dan Vogelzang was a 6-1 junior on the 1975 Northridge basketball team which posted an 18-6 record under the coaching of Irv Pratt.
The Raiders stunned the local basketball world by defeating Jimtown 40-33, Memorial 65-62 and Goshen 62-56 for the championship of a one-class sectional at North Side Gym in Elkhart.
Vogelzang came through in the clutch, scoring a season-high 18 points in the victory over Goshen which had upset Penn the night before.
The following week, Vogelzang tallied 14 points as the Raiders dropped a 71-68 regional heartbreaker in triple overtime to the Plymouth Pilgrims at North Side.
Other Raiders on that team 35 years ago were Tim Barwick, Rick Zirkle, Craig Jackson, Jeff Boomershine, Bert Bontreger, Omer Bender, Tim Rouch, Bob Rhodes, John Yoder and Kent Yoder.
Vogelzang went on to lead the Raiders in scoring as a senior with 253 points. That included a career-high 27 against Fairfield which would turn out to be his future wife’s alma mater.
Four years later, Regina Erb was part of a Fairfield volleyball team which made history.
The Lady Falcons won a single-class sectional championship at Lakeland in LaGrange.
A week later in a regional at Goshen High School, the Falcons defeated Culver Academy before being sidelined by South Bend Adams which at that time was an area volleyball power.
Erb’s teammates in 1979 were Betty Routson, Chris Zellinger, Nancy Kammerdiener, Edna Stutzman, Ann Collins, Jennifer Gawthrop, Marty Linn, Rhonda Beachy, Kelli Layman, Kim Burger and Brenda Borntrager.
Chris Miller was coach of that FHS team 30 years ago and Jennifer Charvat was student manager.
