BOISE, Idaho — This story originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
Longtime Capital High football coach Steve Vogel has died after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Vogel, who led the Eagles from 1986-2003, died Wednesday morning at the age of 72 after what his son, Kyle, said was a decade-long fight with the disease.
Vogel, who first came to Capital as an assistant coach in 1974, took over as the Eagles head coach for Tom Swindell in 1986. He was 118-67 in 18 seasons as a head coach, leading Capital to the 1991 A-1 Division I state championship. The Eagles beat Twin Falls 49-24 in the title game at Holt Arena in Pocatello.
He also coached several players who went on to the next level of football, including former NFL quarterback Jake Plummer and former Boise State and Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin.
Vogel, himself, was a linebacker at Boise State, lettering in the 1970 and ‘71 seasons. Over those two years, he recorded 78 tackles.
He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the ninth round of the 1972 NFL draft, but opted to begin his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Boise State that fall. He was an assistant at Sunset High in Beaverton, Oregon, in 1973 before returning to the Treasure Valley the following season.
