DEATHWATCH: Chad Vogt, Former College QB
Bill Schenley
alive Thursday night after he fell from a ladder Wednesday
afternoon, said a nursing supervisor at Hamot Medical Center.
Chad Vogt, who graduated from Harbor Creek High School
in 1992, was working at a summer job with Braendel Painting
and Service Inc. when he fell about 10 feet directly onto his
head, friends of his family said. He was painting a house in
the 500 block of Pittsburgh Avenue and was found on the
ground by a co-worker, according to a Braendel employee
who did not want to be named.
Vogt, who excelled in football, basketball and baseball while
in high school, also played all three sports while attending
Slippery Rock University, where he was a quarterback. While
at Harbor Creek, he was All-Erie County League quarterback
his junior and senior years, finishing his high school career
with 41 touchdown passes and a league-record 3,365 yards.
For the past several years, he has served as assistant football
coach for Harbor Creek and was recently hired as a full-time
substitute health and physical education teacher for the Corry
Area School District.
News of his accident was devastating to his family and to
those who know him well.
"He's the best quarterback I ever coached," said Dan
Budziszewski, head football coach for Harbor Creek for the
past 20 years.
Budziszewski was in and out of the hospital since learning of
Vogt's fall, which occurred just after lunch, about 12:30 p.m.
A co-worker found Vogt lying on the ground, saw blood and
called 911, according to the Braendel worker. Vogt was most
likely brain dead when the ambulance arrived, said a
paramedic familiar with the call.
He was listed in critical condition at Hamot. A nursing
supervisor said he was "awfully critical."
Jim Vogt, Chad Vogt's father, is the athletic director for
Iroquois High School. He was also the football coach at
Iroquois and served as an assistant coach with Budziszewski
at Harbor Creek. He and his wife, Sally Vogt, have been at the
hospital since hearing of their son's accident.
It was unclear how or why Chad Vogt fell from the ladder. There
were no witnesses. Dennis Braendel, a co-owner of Braendel
Painting and Service, did not return a call to his home Thursday.
Based on Chad Vogt's prognosis, Coach Budziszewski said he
is aware he will have to replace Vogt as an assistant coach. He
was not thinking of that Thursday. "Everything seems
inconsequential right now," he said.
While with the Harbor Creek football team, Chad Vogt threw for
1,285 yards and a league record of 23 touchdowns his senior
year. He also led the league in scoring as a senior with 86 points,
including nine touchdowns and 32 extra points.
He also made first team All-Erie County League in basketball for
two seasons and second team as a sophomore. He finished
second in the Erie County League in scoring as a senior,
averaging 21.2 points a game.
He accepted a football scholarship to Youngstown State
University in Ohio and transferred to Slippery Rock for his final
two seasons.