There was a time when Seth Friel arrived to be a member of Bridgeport High School’s football team that things weren’t necessarily pointing to an all-Harrison County and all-Big 10 Conference career on the football field or for that matter special honorable mention Class AA All State. One of the first to notice he wasn’t ready for the big stage was Coach Josh Nicewarner.

 

“When Seth got to us as a sophomore, quite frankly, he was undersized and wasn’t ready,” said Nicewarner. “He had to develop size and strength because we needed him to move forward. He wanted to develop and you’ve seen the results, including (yesterday).”

 

The end result for Friel was signing a letter of commitment to attend Fairmont State University for the 2017-18 school year. Friel will be the next member of the Fighting Falcons football team.

 

“The campus is right up the road it’s compacted and close together, which I feel is important on the academic side,” said Friel who plans on studying civil engineering. “The engineering program is really strong there and that was a big factor.

 

“On the football side, it’s one of the stronger programs right now in the (Mountain East Conference),” he continued. “I will work hard to be able to find a way to contribute.”

 

Nicewarner said he has no doubt that will be the case. He called Friel a “coach’s dream” for how he handled the grind of football and balance academics with it.

 

“The thing with Seth is that he’s a tough kid and a hard worker that’s had a whole lot of success in high school, but he’s a quiet kid for the most part,” said Nicewarner. “He’s not the type of kid that holler and scream on the field, but he’s the type of kids others see working hard and making an impact.

 

“His whole demeanor for the coaching staff was a perfect storm. He’s the kid that in the Bridgeport system you have to have to win and the reason you’re able to win,” Nicewarner continued. “Offensively, he’s in the backfield where he never carried the ball, but did get some early touchdown catches. Quite frankly, he didn’t care because he wanted to block and if anyone knows me they’ll tell you that I’m more worried about who’s opening up the holes than who’s running through them and he loved doing that and rarely made mistakes.”

 

Friel’s offensive numbers weren’t mind blowing. He actually had one rushing touchdown without an attempt as he recovered a fumble in the end zone for a score against Fairmont Senior in the Class AA semifinal game. He did lead the club with four touchdown receptions on six receptions for 56 yards.

Friel, however, made his bones on defense. He was the club’s third leading tackler from his linebacker spot with 49 tackles. He also had an interception that he returned 86 yards for a touchdown.

 

“I don’t know where Fairmont State will look to play me, but I’m looking at something on the defensive side of the ball,” Friel said. “That’s what I like the best and I’ll do whatever they ask, but I really want a chance to play at linebacker.”

 

Nicewarner thinks Friel will line up on defense. He said it’s even more likely with Fairmont being a passing team that Friel is better suited for the defense, unless he’s considered as a blocking back.

 

“Whatever he does, if he wants it then he’ll earn it. It’s going to be the same story,” said Nicewarner. “He’s got to add bulk and add speed and the only way to do that is to work hard and Seth’s not afraid to work hard.”

 

Friel agreed.

 

“You always have to improve on your game. You’ve got to get bigger, faster and stronger,” said Friel. “Since the season ended I’ve put on 25 pounds, but I haven’t lost speed because I’ve been running track and that’s helped me with my running form.”

 

Friel said he was also looked at by Marietta out of Ohio. He nearly considered going the full academic route at West Virginia University before opting to play for FSU.

 

The senior leaves Bridgeport as part of two Class AA state championship teams. His senior season saw him part of a team that made it to the 'AA' semifinals.

 

Editor's Note: BHS's Seth Friel, front row middle, is shown sitting with his mother Brenda and father Travis. Back row, from left, is BHS Assistant Coach John Cole, sister Olivia, brother Caleb and Coach Josh Nicewarner. Second photo shows Friel showing some emotion, while he's shown going in for six in the bottom picture. Bottom two photos by www.benqueenphotography.com.