By Jenn Boehm -- As the final seconds ticked off the clock with his team down by five points inside the Wachovia Center last Saturday night, Gabe Nyenhuis was squirming on the sidelines.
“I always hate watching and sitting on the bench, not being able to be out there and make plays with my team,” the Philadelphia lineman said. “But I saw how open Boogie (Larry Brackins) was and knowing how good he is, what he can do with the ball, it just sent shivers down my spine. I just knew he was going to score.”
The officials signaled a touchdown, but New York challenged. The call on the field was upheld. Soul touchdown; Soul win. Amidst all of the celebratory and challenging chaos, Nyenhuis said he didn’t even realize what was happening.
“From my angle, it was really hard to see. But I knew Boogie could do it. After the touchdown, I ran into locker room and was cheering. Then somebody said, ‘they’re reviewing,’” he said. “I came back out and as soon as I got back out, they said touchdown. So I honestly had no idea what was going on.”
The play that was likely viewed and reviewed thousands of times over the last week allowed No. 1 Philadelphia to advance to the National Conference Championship matchup against No. 4 Cleveland on Saturday afternoon. Nyenhuis knows the Gladiators, who defeated No. 2 Georgia on Monday and split their regular-season series with the Soul 1-1, will show up prepared to battle.
“They have a very potent offense, a great running game, great receiver and a great quarterback. We have to stop them,” he said. “They have a very good defensive line. Our guys are going to have to step up and give [QB Matt] D’Orazio time to throw the ball.”
Nyenhuis, now in his second AFL season, earned All-Arena honors two weeks ago for his solid regular season performance: 9.5 sacks, 28.0 tackles, (12.5 for loss), five forced fumbles and one pass breakup. He credits the Soul coaching staff for his success in the City of Brotherly Love.
“Coach [Bret] Munsey was the one who I first started talking to. He got me excited about coming to play in Philadelphia and Arena Football,” the 6-3, 269-pound lineman said. “Our new defensive line coach (Mickey Mays) is a good guy and a great coach. It’s been a pleasure playing for him this year.”
Born Gabriel David Nyenhuis, the 27-year-old grew up about 30 miles from Chicago in St. Charles, Ill. His greatest influences during his formative years were within his own family: his grandfather Sam Sublett, a former 110 hurdler at DePaul, and his dad Paul, a standout three-sport high school athlete originally from Wisconsin.
“They’re both very strong men, athletic and big into sports. I modeled myself after them,” Nyenhuis said.
However, football wasn’t the early sports option for the defensive end.
“Growing up, I even didn’t play football until high school. I raced BMX bikes,” he said. “I loved being on my bike and going as fast I can, jumping it. Oh, it was great. It’s an individual sport where I could just go out and wreak havoc. I don’t race competitively anymore, but I do bring my bike to the trails every now and then, just to jump around a little bit.”
While attending St. Charles High, the football accolades poured in for Nyenhuis. He was named SuperPrep All-American, Chicago Sun Times first-team all-area and all-state, Chicago Tribune first-team all-state, IFSFCA all-state first team, Champaign News Gazette first-team all-state, first-team all-conference (twice) and Upstate Eight Conference Defensive Player of the Year (twice).
Nyenhuis signed and then redshirted his freshman season at Northwestern, but transferred to Garden City (KS) Community College following his sophomore season (after three games played) and ultimately transferred to Colorado, where he was reunited with Coach Gary Barnett, who originally recruited him at Northwestern.
Signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2004, Nyenhuis bounced around to a number of practice squads and NFL rosters, including Jacksonville, Atlanta and Indianapolis. While in Atlanta (2005), Nyenhuis suited up with current teammates OLs Martin Bibla and Mike Mabry. Then Munsey came calling and Philadelphia found an aggressive and talented defensive lineman.
While most of his family resides in – and will be watching from – St. Charles (his younger sister Dani lives in Charlotte, N.C.) they’ve been able to attend a few Soul games this season. Of course, the Week 2 victory at Chicago, but his father and mother Sue have also managed to travel to a few others. In fact, Paul Nyenhuis will be on-hand supporting his son on Saturday afternoon, live and in-person.
“I’m excited about the game,” he added. “Going way back to the preseason, all of the time and hard work that we’ve put in is paying off. There’s a bright light at the end of the tunnel. And we’ve got to win and move forward.”
Jenn Boehm, formerly the Director of Publicity and Corporate Communications for the Arena Football League, has been involved with the AFL since 1998, when she began working in the front office of the then-Buffalo Destroyers. She was a member of the League's Communications Department from early 2000 until July 2005. Now working as an NYC-based actor/singer, she currently serves as a regular contributor to arenafootball.com. Contact Jenn at jennboehm@hotmail.com.
