A three-year starter as a defensive lineman on the Comet football team, Edwin Doepel was a key contributor on Concordia's first-ever conference championship squad in 1976.
Doepel started his first game at Concordia in his sophomore season of 1973, making an immediate impact with 97 total tackles, a fumble recovery, and a blocked kick in his debut season.
After taking a year off in 1974, Doepel returned to the team in 1975 where he led the Comets in tackles, sacks, and fumble recoveries to earn his first all-conference nod. In his senior season in 1976, Doepel tallied 110 total tackles, three fumble recoveries, and four sacks to secure his second straight all-conference selection and propel Concordia to its first-ever conference title.
After earning his bachelor's degree in elementary education from Concordia in 1977, Doepel attended Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri where he obtained a Master of Divinity degree in 1981. Later in 1981, Doepel was installed as the first resident Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in McAlester, Oklahoma.
Since 1996, Doepel has been instrumental in the development of several new churches, including Crossroads Community Church of the Fox Valley and Resurrection Church of the Fox Valley.
Doepel also served in the Army as a chaplain for 15 years and was deployed to the Middle East for Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1990. While there, he helped build two sand chapels, one in Kuwait and one in Iraq, where numerous soldiers came to Christ. For this and other service in the theater, he was awarded the Bronze Star.
Following his retirement in 2021, Doepel now serves as a Police Chaplain with the Aurora PD and as a volunteer staff person at Bedrock Church in Sarasota, Florida. Doepel and his wife, Ruth, were married in 1977, have three children and nine grandchildren.
Career Awards
- Two-time Little College All-American (1975, 1976)
- Two-time All-UMAC First Team (1975, 1976)
- 1975 All-Mississippi River Conference First Team
- 1975 All-Lutheran Team
Statistics
- 1976 season - 110 total tackles, 30 solo tackles, 80 unassisted tackles, 3 fumble recoveries, 4 sacks
