Marion Local’s Cale Nagel looks back for the first of his four touchdown catches during Friday’s win over New Bremen. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
His 176 yards receiving and four touchdowns against New Bremen leave little doubt about which area football player played with the most temperature this past Friday.
Afterward, Marion Local senior Cale Nagel spoke quietly, almost shyly, about the biggest night of his adolescent athletic career.
In Friday’s 40-7 Flyer win over undefeated New Bremen the 5’7″, 150-pound mighty-mite wide receiver/cornerback caught five passes for 176 yards and four touchdowns…and did it in three quarters. And yes, the question was asked as we packed to leave the stadium, afterward, “Was that enough to get ‘Who’s Hot’ this week?”
More than enough.
Briefly, prior to the 2025 season very little was known, or certainly written about Nagel, whose diminutive size does make him easy to overlook on the football field.
“Where have you been the last two years?” he was asked following Friday’s game with New Bremen.
“I was playing cornerback on defense the last two years,” he said quietly, flashing a winning smile.
And when asked if he liked his new change of scenery, he nodded, still smiling.
Admittedly, he’s more comfortable with playing the game than talking about it, but he’s taken to playing offense like a duck to water, catching the winning touchdown throw from Brennen Hess two weeks ago in the Flyers’ comeback 21-14 win over St. Henry.
And Friday his four touchdowns…62, 6, 37, and 66 yards…electrified the partisan Flyer fans with a performance that no one could have imagined previous to kickoff. Including Nagel, himself.
“Not in my wildest dreams,” he said, searching for the words. “He (Brennen Hess) just throws it and I go get it.”
Including his first touchdown Friday – a twisting, over-his-head catch that he had to adjust to in mid-stride. That seemed to ignite the Flyer offense, who after giving up a touchdown to New Bremen on the opening kickoff, proceeded to score 40 unanswered points. Nagel’s 176 yards receiving amounted to nearly one-half of the Flyers 364 total yards. That’s pretty hot…hot enough, anyway.
It’s likely you’ll hear more about Nagel and the Flyers – or the Flyers because of Cale Nagel. Either way, our congratulations to him for catching this week’s ‘Who’s Hot’ recognition on Press Pros.
Peace of mind is as easy as the relationship you have with your local bank, and the St. Henry bank is small enough to know you, and big enough to serve you. The St. Henry Bank joins Press Pros Magazine in recognizing this week’s “Who’s Hot” honoree…Cale Nagel from Marion Local High School.