SOUTHWEST KANSAS STORM
Zachary Fondal Returns, Bringing Veteran Leadership Back to Offensive Line in 2027
Staying in Kansas, Zachary Fondal, a former University of Kansas product who returned after a hiatus from football in 2026, has opted to return for 2027. Fondal entered 2026 as something of a question mark: a player who had proven he could play at a high level but had been away from football for two seasons, focusing on his family.
*All Photos via The Hometown Lens*
At the time, the Storm were taking a calculated risk that Fondal could return to form and play at the high level he had in the past. By the end of the 2026 season, he not only put any questions to bed, but he also solidified himself as one of the core members of the Storm. Fondal brought veteran leadership to the offensive line, and despite being the oldest player in the group, he played every game and very rarely came off the field.
College Career
Fondal learned immediately upon entering the college recruiting trail that things were not going to be handed to him. Coming out of Corsicana, Texas, he would initially have to take the JUCO route, committing to play football at Navarro College. Playing on a team that eventually went 10-2 and set offensive records in 2011, he would stick with Navarro for two seasons, playing on a stacked team of future Division 1, and professional players.
He himself would end up at the Division 1 level by 2013 after being ranked as one of the top JUCO linemen available. After receiving an offer from Arkansas that had intrigued him, he ultimately decided to commit to the University of Kansas in 2013 under Head Coach Charlie Weis.
His offensive coordinator was another former NFL Head Coach and coordinator, Dave Campo, and his offensive line coach was a Kansas Alum, and 10-year NFL veteran: Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Famer and Pro-Bowler Tim Grunhard. He transferred one more time and finished college at Angelo State in 2014.
During this season, Angelo State went 9-2, ending up the only Lone Star Conference team to advance to the playoffs. Fondal however, had to sit by and watch due to being named academically ineligible. Ultimately despite four years of hard work, Fondal did not get to graduate with his team mates in 2014, but he chocked it up to a lesson learned. He says if there is one thing he wants young players to take from his story, is how important grades and focusing on your school work is.
Ultimately, they went on to win the LSC Championship. This was Angelo State's first Championship win of any kind since 1987. Head Coach Will Wagner won LSC Coach of the Year. Looking back at the bigger picture: outside the University of Kansas, everywhere Fondal played in college, they won championships. Despite a 3-9 season in 2013, Fondal finished college with a collective 32-15 record.
2011: 10-2 SWJCFC Champions
2012: 10-2 SWJCFC Champions
2013: 3-9
2014: 9-2 LSC Champions (ineligble)
Professional Career
After being a part of 3 championship programs in four years of college and setting records along the way at three different schools, Fondal would find his way to the professional level, signing with the San Angelo Bandits coached by Meadow Lemon. This relationship with Lemon would continue, as Fondal would play under him in 2017 with the Duke City Gladiators, and in 2018 with the Kansas City Phantoms, where he also played with current Storm receiver Demarius Washington.
Fondal would go on to spend time with the Green Bay Blizzard under Corey Roberson, Iowa Barnstormers under Les Moss, and later returned to Duke City for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. In 2024, he ultimately decided it was time to focus on his family.
Temporary Retirement
Heading into the 2025 season, Zach Fondal had not signed a contract and sat back watching as men he had suited up with on Saturdays continued their careers. Fondal was content knowing his professional career had spanned over a decade, even outlasting some of the leagues he once played in.
However, fate had other plans for Fondal. After previously flirting with a return to the game for the 2025 season, Fondal would find his way back to the field in 2026 instead. At the time for the Storm, this amounted to a calculated gamble, as mentioned before.
Offensive linemen don't typically return from being out of football. Being in football shape after 2 years away from the game at 200 pounds is a lot different than at 300 pounds, but that's for your typical athlete; Zach Fondal is not your typical athlete. Two years away can mean weight lost, or weight gained, or it can simply mean a finely tuned athlete allowing his instrument to soften during two years focused on anything other than pancaking defensive linemen.
The Storm staff knew Fondal had been a high-level player for many years, and they knew Fondal had been training independently before his return, but this wasn't a player that had been with the Storm under the current staff.
Essentially, they knew that, in the best-case scenario, the team signed a starting offensive lineman who, at his peak, could claim he was one of the best in the business of indoor football. Worst-case scenario, he decides the comeback isn't worth the risk, and he doesn't come. They also knew the worst-case scenario was the least likely outcome on the spectrum.
Storybook Season
What transpired is a storyline many missed, and it is fit for a movie. Zach Fondal not only returned to the field, but he started every game, playing nearly every snap for a 12-game season. He reminded everyone why he was so successful in college, and later the pro ranks for nearly a decade before stepping away. He came back from two years away from the field and became arguably one ot the best offensive linemen in the National Arena League as if he hadn't missed a beat.
The Storm Offensive Line may not have won an award, but they did pave the way for Jaden Sutton to win offensive rookie of the year and co-offensive player of the year. They were the main factor in their unit being among the most efficient rushing attacks in the league. They also gave their quarterbacks clean pockets to operate from, allowing just 6 sacks in 12 games.
*All Photos from The Hometown Lens*
Despite losing Matt Struck four weeks in, both he and Trae Self remained in the top five for most passing statistics all the way until the end of the season. This offense was so tough to stop; a quarterback who missed 60% of the regular season finished top 5 in passing yards, unbelievable.
*All Photos via The Hometown Lens*
All of this culminated in a season that will go down in history for the team, and the league, as the Storm won 9 straight on their way to an 11-1 record and NAL Championship win in front of a rowdy home crowd. For Fondal, it not only capped off an amazing season and a comeback story that could write its own Disney Script, without the added wrinkle of bringing a Championship to the state of Kansas. The only state he had not previously won a championship in during college.