Gridiron rebirth
This is part of a summer series of Q & A features profiling Butler County area sports personalities.Erik Fuhrer thought his football career was long over.But the 2003 Karns City graduate heard about an alumni football game being planned pitting the Gremlins against their old nemesis, Moniteau.Fuhrer was sold, played in the game in December of 2010 and caught the gridiron bug again.“It got my juices back flowing,” he said.Now, Fuhrer, 26, is the starting quarterback for the Butler County Bears, a semi-pro franchise in the Grid Iron Football Alliance.He talked about the Bears and what makes the Karns City football program so consistently good.
How did you get involved with the Butler County Bears?Actually, I heard about it last year when it first started up. ... My job didn't allow me to play. They called this year and said they had a position for me if I wanted to come out and it fit into my schedule, so, here I am.
What was it like playing again?It was absolutely amazing. I talked to my parents about it and they were a little hesitant. They were worried about me getting hurt and losing my job as tough as it is these days. But they knew I wanted to do it. You can't worry about getting hurt when you play a game you love.
How did playing in the alumni game get you prepared for playing for the Bears?We actually practiced quite a bit. We were playing Moniteau ... we wanted to win that game. I got some of my conditioning back.
What was it like playing against the guys from Moniteau again?It really brought the community back together again. There was great attendance for that game. It was weird. We hung out with these guys (from Moniteau) after we graduated. There definitely wasn't as much trash talking.
You were a three-year starter at Karns City. Why is Karns City football so good year after year?It starts with all the coaches from the seventh grade all the way up to the high school. They encouraged us to hit the weight room, to get bigger, stronger, faster.When it came down to the fourth quarter, Karns City always seemed to have that extra gear. And we were always watching film. We were always prepared and always made those key halftime adjustments.
What is your most memorable moment during your playing days at Karns City?The moment I'll always remember is the game against Central Mountain (in 2002). We were playing a Quad-A school and, of course, we were Double-A. The Central Mountain quarterback held the ball out near the goal line and I grabbed it and started running with it. I ran it back for a score and we went on to win the game (35-16).No one gave us a chance to win that game. No one gave us a chance to win many games that year because of all the talent we lost from the year before. We still made it to the District 9 title game. We lost, but we made it. That was one of the funnest years.
How long did it take you to get comfortable again at quarterback with the Bears after all that time off?The first game, I had a little happy feet in there getting used to people coming at you again. But I settled down.
You and the Bears had an interesting experience a couple of weeks ago in Youngstown where you received a forfeit because of poor officiating. What the heck was going on there?It was definitely like nothing I have ever been a part of. Hopefully we won't see that again.It was just poorly run, not thought out well. We're ready for them to come to Butler to see what a real stadium, a real field and real refs look like.
We heard one of the refs was drunk. Really?(Laughs). You couldn't get within three feet of the guy without smelling it. We asked, ‘Where'd you get these guys? From the Footlocker down the street?'
Did that sour you on the league or was that just an isolated incident?It's definitely not a league-wide thing. The game was out of hand. The way (head coach Kirk Bergbigler) handled it by pulling us off the field and walking off was the right thing to do.
Apparently Youngstown didn't see it that way.No. They refused to shake hands with us as well as the coaches. They really thought they were going to win that game, and they were winning (13-0 in the fourth quarter) when we walked off the field. The league said they had to forfeit, though. Still, they think they can beat us.
How much does that motivate you when they come to Butler Aug. 13?When you won't shake hands after something like that, well, you are just guaranteeing a win (for the other team) the next time.Now when they come, we want to knock them around a little bit.
Do you plan on playing for a long time?That's the plan. I have a love for football and I want to play it as long as possible.You definitely have to weigh options — you never know what the future may bring. But I plan on being there next year.
