Sponseller Leads On, Off Gridiron
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
The Tippecanoe Valley senior carries a 4.0 grade point averaged, teetering him between first and second in his class, while he also takes part in more clubs than he can remember.
Speaking on his phone before going to his internship at Combined Community Services in Warsaw Wednesday morning, Sponseller tried to think of the clubs he’s involved in.
Thinking on his feet, he rattled off the Dekko Foundation in Kendallville, the Kosciusko Endowment Youth Services (KEYS), Fellowship of Christian Athletes and 4-H, while also noting he’s the president of student government and the president of the National Honor Society.
“It’s really a lot, but I really enjoy getting involved and making the biggest impact I can,” he said. “A lot of people look down on young kids, saying they can’t do things, but I try to dispel that (stereotype) by doing whatever I can.”
One person not doubting what Sponseller can do is his football coach, Jeff Shriver.
“Nolan’s a great player for us, not just as a football player, but also as a leader,” Shriver said. “He’s just a quality young man of great character. I can’t say enough about the type of person he is. To have great leadership in a season where everything may not have gone quite as planned, to have a positive leader is a great thing. Nolan is someone who’s intelligent. He plays intelligent and he prepares.”
Valley entered the season with high expectations, but finished the season 5-5, falling 53-18 to Jimtown in the opening round of the sectional.
“This year, our team didn’t have the degree of defensive success that I was hoping for, but I think that came with a lot of inexperienced players,” the 5-foot-11, 165-pound safety said. “I was just trying to help them along the way. We had new secondary players, new linebackers and new linemen, so I just tried to build those relationships to help them, while they were also helping me.”
As a junior, Sponseller posted 60 solo tackles and assisted on 19.
With a lot of new faces on the defense, Sponseller’s responsibilities grew this season and he responded with a team-best 71 solo tackles, five interceptions and two defensive scores.
Sponseller finished his prep career second all-time in tackle points for the Vikings.
Among this season’s stats, most of the turnover numbers came in Valley’s rivalry game against Rochester when he recorded two interceptions, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble in the 42-21 victory.
“It was a great game, because we captured the (annual Bell Trophy) for the first time since my sophomore year,” Sponseller said. “With the two interceptions, I felt like our coaches really got us prepared for that game. We were really fired up and we just came out to play. It probably was my best defensive game, just being involved in tackles and just trying to be everywhere on the field at once.”
For Shriver, the four-turnover game against Rochester was nice, but he really enjoyed Sponseller’s effort in a 34-32 win at Northfield two weeks earlier.
“That was a great defensive effort when we really needed one (against Rochester), but maybe the play I think of as his play of the year was in the Northfield game,” the coach said. “Things were not going well for us. They drove down the field, scored with 0:00 left on the clock and were going for two to tie it up, but Nolan broke on the ball and batted down the ball, saving the win for us. That was a great defensive play for him.”
Along with doing it defensively, Sponseller also averaged nearly 10 yards per carry and 23 yards per reception for Valley’s high-scoring offense.
Despite all the action on both sides of the ball, Sponseller never complained.
“I felt like I never really got to take a break, which I love – just being involved in the game,” he said. “I’d rather be involved than not involved. I enjoyed it because I felt like I had more of a leadership position this year, being on the field as much as I could.”
The Rochester victory kept Valley in the hunt for a share of the TRC championship, but the Vikings stumbled at Whitko, losing 34-21 in the regular season finale.
That loss came one week before the Jimtown defeat, ending the Vikings’ season on a sour note.
“Those teams were big and tough, and I don’t know if we necessarily stepped up to their physicality levels like we were hoping to,” Sponseller said. “Then, we were so banged up by the end of the season. We had been through a couple rough games before that, fighting injuries. I fought a couple injuries this year and I know some other guys were too. We were just trying to hold it together. I felt like when we needed to come up big in those games we did, but we just came up short in some areas.”
Following the Jimtown loss, Sponseller may not have only ended his prep career, but his football career altogether.
“I’m pretty sure I’m done with football,” he said. “I’ve had some offers and interest, but I think I’m going to focus on track in college if I’m going to do a sport.”
And now that football is over, he has one less thing to prioritize.
“I really have to gauge where my priorities are,” Sponseller said. “If it’s between homework and film, I really just need to focus on the homework. I’m also involved in a lot of clubs, so I have to say no to a lot of things, even though I may be president of the club.
“During the football season, I needed to focus on that, yet I had to balance it out with showing up to events with my clubs, going to class, obviously, and getting my homework done,” he added. “The school’s been great about it. My parents have been very supportive throughout it. Again, God provides many opportunities for me and I can’t thank Him enough. All glory goes to Him for everything.”
The next opportunity Sponseller would like is to help those less fortunate.
“I want to go into business to start off, then hopefully go into the not-for-profit world, because that’s what I’m really passionate about,” he said.
“Hopefully I end up in developmental economics, helping businesses in third world countries develop their businesses so they can provide for themselves,” he added.
And according to Shriver, whatever Sponseller sets his mind to, he’ll succeed in it.
“He’s universally recognized at Tippecanoe Valley as a leader, both on and off the field,” Shriver said. “He had a very bright football career, but is going to have great, great success in whatever he chooses to do in life, because of this character, work ethic and positive attitude.”[[In-content Ad]]
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The Tippecanoe Valley senior carries a 4.0 grade point averaged, teetering him between first and second in his class, while he also takes part in more clubs than he can remember.
Speaking on his phone before going to his internship at Combined Community Services in Warsaw Wednesday morning, Sponseller tried to think of the clubs he’s involved in.
Thinking on his feet, he rattled off the Dekko Foundation in Kendallville, the Kosciusko Endowment Youth Services (KEYS), Fellowship of Christian Athletes and 4-H, while also noting he’s the president of student government and the president of the National Honor Society.
“It’s really a lot, but I really enjoy getting involved and making the biggest impact I can,” he said. “A lot of people look down on young kids, saying they can’t do things, but I try to dispel that (stereotype) by doing whatever I can.”
One person not doubting what Sponseller can do is his football coach, Jeff Shriver.
“Nolan’s a great player for us, not just as a football player, but also as a leader,” Shriver said. “He’s just a quality young man of great character. I can’t say enough about the type of person he is. To have great leadership in a season where everything may not have gone quite as planned, to have a positive leader is a great thing. Nolan is someone who’s intelligent. He plays intelligent and he prepares.”
Valley entered the season with high expectations, but finished the season 5-5, falling 53-18 to Jimtown in the opening round of the sectional.
“This year, our team didn’t have the degree of defensive success that I was hoping for, but I think that came with a lot of inexperienced players,” the 5-foot-11, 165-pound safety said. “I was just trying to help them along the way. We had new secondary players, new linebackers and new linemen, so I just tried to build those relationships to help them, while they were also helping me.”
As a junior, Sponseller posted 60 solo tackles and assisted on 19.
With a lot of new faces on the defense, Sponseller’s responsibilities grew this season and he responded with a team-best 71 solo tackles, five interceptions and two defensive scores.
Sponseller finished his prep career second all-time in tackle points for the Vikings.
Among this season’s stats, most of the turnover numbers came in Valley’s rivalry game against Rochester when he recorded two interceptions, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble in the 42-21 victory.
“It was a great game, because we captured the (annual Bell Trophy) for the first time since my sophomore year,” Sponseller said. “With the two interceptions, I felt like our coaches really got us prepared for that game. We were really fired up and we just came out to play. It probably was my best defensive game, just being involved in tackles and just trying to be everywhere on the field at once.”
For Shriver, the four-turnover game against Rochester was nice, but he really enjoyed Sponseller’s effort in a 34-32 win at Northfield two weeks earlier.
“That was a great defensive effort when we really needed one (against Rochester), but maybe the play I think of as his play of the year was in the Northfield game,” the coach said. “Things were not going well for us. They drove down the field, scored with 0:00 left on the clock and were going for two to tie it up, but Nolan broke on the ball and batted down the ball, saving the win for us. That was a great defensive play for him.”
Along with doing it defensively, Sponseller also averaged nearly 10 yards per carry and 23 yards per reception for Valley’s high-scoring offense.
Despite all the action on both sides of the ball, Sponseller never complained.
“I felt like I never really got to take a break, which I love – just being involved in the game,” he said. “I’d rather be involved than not involved. I enjoyed it because I felt like I had more of a leadership position this year, being on the field as much as I could.”
The Rochester victory kept Valley in the hunt for a share of the TRC championship, but the Vikings stumbled at Whitko, losing 34-21 in the regular season finale.
That loss came one week before the Jimtown defeat, ending the Vikings’ season on a sour note.
“Those teams were big and tough, and I don’t know if we necessarily stepped up to their physicality levels like we were hoping to,” Sponseller said. “Then, we were so banged up by the end of the season. We had been through a couple rough games before that, fighting injuries. I fought a couple injuries this year and I know some other guys were too. We were just trying to hold it together. I felt like when we needed to come up big in those games we did, but we just came up short in some areas.”
Following the Jimtown loss, Sponseller may not have only ended his prep career, but his football career altogether.
“I’m pretty sure I’m done with football,” he said. “I’ve had some offers and interest, but I think I’m going to focus on track in college if I’m going to do a sport.”
And now that football is over, he has one less thing to prioritize.
“I really have to gauge where my priorities are,” Sponseller said. “If it’s between homework and film, I really just need to focus on the homework. I’m also involved in a lot of clubs, so I have to say no to a lot of things, even though I may be president of the club.
“During the football season, I needed to focus on that, yet I had to balance it out with showing up to events with my clubs, going to class, obviously, and getting my homework done,” he added. “The school’s been great about it. My parents have been very supportive throughout it. Again, God provides many opportunities for me and I can’t thank Him enough. All glory goes to Him for everything.”
The next opportunity Sponseller would like is to help those less fortunate.
“I want to go into business to start off, then hopefully go into the not-for-profit world, because that’s what I’m really passionate about,” he said.
“Hopefully I end up in developmental economics, helping businesses in third world countries develop their businesses so they can provide for themselves,” he added.
And according to Shriver, whatever Sponseller sets his mind to, he’ll succeed in it.
“He’s universally recognized at Tippecanoe Valley as a leader, both on and off the field,” Shriver said. “He had a very bright football career, but is going to have great, great success in whatever he chooses to do in life, because of this character, work ethic and positive attitude.”[[In-content Ad]]
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