No trouble for the Pirates in their 2023 football opener

GILMAN 74, LAKE HOLCOMBE 0

Gilman’s highly-anticipated football season opener Friday was basically over not long after it started.

The Pirates jumped all over an overmatched Lake Holcombe squad, building a 34-0 lead by the end of the first quarter and a 54-0 halftime lead before finishing with a 74-0 win in front of the home crowd.

Gilman held Lake Holcombe to one first down, which came via a pass interference penalty, and minus-5 yards of total offense. The Pirates, even with a decided edge in field position, rolled up 400 yards of total offense and were able to get ample playing time for 32 team members over the last three quarters.

Lake Holcombe was already without its most dangerous weapon, state track sprint champion Trent Nitek, before the game started, and then lost its two starting running backs to injury in the first half, severely hampering any hope the Chieftains had of keeping the game competitive.

The defense set the tone with what Gilman head coach Robin Rosemeyer said was an improved showing over the scrimmage sessions the previous Friday.

“The defensive line played better than they did in the scrimmage,” Rosemeyer said. “It was a little different type of offense that we saw. It wasn’t the spread, but I thought we had good gap control. They didn’t throw a lot but we kept them in the pocket when they did try to throw. We didn’t always get a sack, but we got good pressure on them. In the run game overall we did a good job of maintaining gaps. It started there and then we tackled pretty well. We didn’t miss many tackles.”

Dalton Wisocky led Gilman with nine tackles, Troy Duellman had seven and Caleb Marion and Dawson Krizan had five each.

The first-quarter scoring barrage actually started on defense. On fourth and 12 from Lake Holcombe’s 21, a high snap went over the head of punter Brian Strzok II. Strzok recovered the ball at the goal line, but he was buried by the trio of Marion, Wisocky and Joey Syryczuk.

The free kick went out of bounds at Gilman’s 48 and the Pirates got a 20-yard run from Duellman and a 22-yard gain by Krizan on a six-play drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Tony Syryczuk with 7:12 left in the quarter. Krizan’s two-point pass to Marion made it 10-0.

Gilman’s next possession lasted just one play with Duellman shooting through a big hole up the middle and then making one cut downfield behind a Max Ustianowski block on his way to a 53-yard scoring run. Duellman also ran in the two-point try to make it 18-0.

The Pirates stuffed Brandon Moore for a 1-yard gain on fourth and two, giving the ball back to the offense at the Chieftains’ 33 and, again, Duellman scored on the first play of the series, again getting a big hole at the point of attack and then running through a couple of arm tackles along the right sideline. Syryczuk caught the two-point pass for a 26-0 lead with 3:14 left in the quarter.

Duellman’s 36-yard punt return then set Gilman up just 19 yards away from the end zone. Krizan’s swing pass to Chad Konsella took the ball to the four. Konsella ran it in from there and Marion caught the two-point pass, making it 34-0 with 29 seconds left in the quarter.

“Special teams were big,” Rosemeyer said. “Our kickoff teams held them inside the 35 on kickoffs. Then on punt returns we had four for 96 yards that set us up in good position.”

Duellman ran for 111 yards on just four first-quarter carries. Konsella showed his quickness while getting most of his five carries in the second quarter and finishing with 35 yards. He is a young weapon Gilman is looking to use more.

“You can’t not take advantage of what he brings to the table,” Rosemeyer said. “We’ll continually work on things to get him involved.”

Syryczuk’s recovery of a fumbled pitch by Lake Holcombe led to a 22-yard touchdown run by Krizan early in the second quarter. From there, the offensive reserves, led by freshman quarterback Logan Halida, took over. Alex Copenhaver’s 19-yard touchdown run capped a 52-yard scoring drive. He made it 47-0 by booting the first of his three extra point kicks through the uprights. A 28-yard punt return by Konsella set up freshman Henry Syryczuk’s 6-yard touchdown run with 50 seconds left in the half.

Halida took a boot keep to his left and scampered 32 yards for his first varsity touchdown with 7:46 left in the third quarter. Dawson Robinson’s fumble recovery at Lake Holcombe’s 29-yard line led to a short scoring drive that was capped by Henry Syryczuk’s 5-yard touchdown on the final play of the third quarter that made it 68-0. Another freshman, Kolby Keepers, capped the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown with 4:33 left.

Keepers had 54 yards on five carries, while Halida had 73 yards on four attempts. In all, nine Pirates carried the ball at least twice. Krizan completed two of three passes for 19 yards.

“It was nice to have nine different kids run the ball in a game like that,” Rosemeyer said. “We do have some balance throughout. As a JV team freshman/ sophomore combination, we have some depth there where we don’t lose a lot. If we need it on a Friday night, we have kids who can step up.”

The Pirates will shoot for a 2-0 start Friday when they head to Bruce for a 7 p.m. non-conference battle with the Red Raiders, a team Gilman’s coaching staff feels will be one of the most improved squads the Pirates will face in the regular season.

Bruce opened its season with a 36-20 win at Alma Center Lincoln Friday. The Red Raiders were powered entirely by their running game, led by their all-con- ference junior Andrew Frederick, who ran for 277 yards and three touchdowns on 39 attempts. Ronan Garcia added 108 yards on 21 carries.

Bruce survived despite allowing 320 passing yards to the Hornets.

“They are a lot bigger team with a couple of quick running backs,” Rosemeyer said. “It was just a lot of 3 yards and a cloud of dust against Alma Center Lincoln. There weren’t a lot of big plays, but they kept the chains moving. They ran 82 offensive plays. That’s a lot, and they scored 36 points. They’ll be the best team we’ve seen so far between the scrimmage and Lake Holcombe.”

Gilman’s Tony Syryczuk cuts behind a block by Dalton Wisocky (63) and scores an easy 1-yard touchdown early in Friday’s win.MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS