Old rivals will bring challenges for Pirates in new conference

GILMAN FOOTBALL PREVIEW

It’s been a long off-season for the returning members of the Gilman Pirates who came so close to playing for the WIAA eightplayer state championship last November.

But the time has finally come to turn the page following the heartbreaking 29-28 state semifinal loss to Newman Catholic and start chasing the dream all over again.

The loss of four seniors –– All-State performers Bryson Keepers and Julian Krizan and linemen Zack Marion and Bryce Chovan –– and a tougher schedule from what the Pirates faced in their first two falls of eightman football will be challenges to overcome.

But, the Pirates still return plenty of experience and, according to the seniors, they remain driven to keep Gilman in contention for big things at season’s end.

“I think we did good (in the off-season),” said linebacker and new quarterback Grady Kroeplin. “We always got together and we’d run plays by ourselves and we’d all work out.”

“I think there was a little more commitment to it,” senior tight end and defensive back Branden Ustianowski said. “There was more people showing up, putting in the work.”

Year three of eight-player football in Gilman starts Friday with a non-conference game at Lake Holcombe that starts at 7 p.m. It’s the first of three non-conference crossover games against Central Wisconsin West teams before the Pirates kick things off Sept. 16 in their new home, the six-team Central Wisconsin East, where five of the teams from the former CloverWood Conference are reunited.

“Our conference will be better than it was last year overall,” said head coach Robin Rosemeyer, who begins his 18th season in that position. “There will be some stronger teams and even our non-conference schedule I think will be a little bit better. Definitely a notch up in competition this year. We have to be ready to improve ourselves with what we’re going to have coming our way.”

Preparation for Friday’s opener has gone well. Rosemeyer said much of the work in practice has been review for the older players. Team numbers have noticeably grown to 25 with the addition of six freshmen and three first-year sophomores in the program, so there has been a learning process with that portion of the roster.

The Pirates scrimmaged Chequamegon and Flambeau Friday on their home field and, as Rosemeyer put it, produced the usual good, bad and ugly moments that come from that first chance for a team to test itself against someone else.

“It was just good to go live and see how kids performed fast against fastmoving competition, fast-moving defense and fast-moving offense,” he said. “There were just a lot of little things. Every play you kind of take apart. You don’t want to harp too much on it, but you take out little details that we need to improve upon.”

During their 10-1 season of 2021, the Pirates were dominant on both sides of the ball, averaging about 407 yards and 49 points per game on offense despite a handful of running-clock second halves while holding opponents to 12 points and about 206 yards per game. Newman’s 477 yards in the semifinal skewed that yardage total a bit.

Without question, Krizan and Keepers were rare defensive and offensive playmaking talents the Pirates aren’t likely to replace straight-up. But as eight-man units working together, they feel they are more than capable of still getting the job done in 2022.

Offensively, Kroeplin’s move from fullback to quarterback is the most noticeable change and turns junior Troy Duellman into the top returning running back. Kroeplin gained 1,010 yards and scored 18 touchdowns last year, while Duellman rushed for 646 yards and nine scores. Senior Branden Ustianowski and junior Caleb Marion are back, providing a formidable tight end tandem and senior Braeden Person is back at guard.

Just because he’s taking snaps doesn’t mean Kroeplin won’t be running the ball. With Duellman in the backfield along with senior Sam Syryczuk and fullbacks Wayne McAlpine and sophomore Lee Zagorski, Rosemeyer feels he has plenty of options with his play calling.

“Grady does throw a good enough ball and he’s just another weapon,” Rosemeyer said. “We like to utilize our quarterbacks in the running game, whether it’s 11-man or eight-man. We probably emphasize it even more in eight-man. This year it might be even more of an emphasis. We may have to use Grady between the tackles more with some quarterback runs just because of his toughness and his speed. We may run the ball out of shotgun more than we had in the past with Julian. He threw some good balls at the scrimmage. He understands the offense pretty well.

“With our running backs, Wayne, Troy, Sam and Lee, we have a good core there,” he added. “Wayne and Lee will be the workhorses up the middle with their toughness. Troy and Sam have some speed. We may have to do some packages where we get Troy and Sam in there together.”

Ustianowski caught 15 passes for 456 yards and seven touchdowns last year.

“With Branden it’s nice to have that speed and size he brings,” Rosemeyer said. “He’s just a good receiver who catches the ball so well and runs good routes. Plus at tight end it’s almost like an offensive tackle in 11-man. He’s such a good blocker there. He can handle a defensive end or a defensive tackled if needed. At the other tight end, we have Caleb Marion. He’s not quite as fast, but he’s going to be a good blocker there and is a capable receiver.”

Senior Casey Grunseth and sophomore Max Ustianowski are the top reserves at tight end.

On the line, junior Dalton Wisocky steps into a starting role at guard. He got two starts last year and has impressed in camp. The center role will be filled by junior Nate Bertsinger and sophomore Brayden Olynick. Sophomore Joey Syryczuk is the top backup at guard and is coming off solid showing in the scrimmage.

“Our offensive line is not bad at all,” Person said. “We have Dalton coming up at guard. He’s a pretty darn good blocker. Then you got Nate or Brayden at center. Brayden is doing pretty good at blocking.”

Kroeplin is also taking on a defensive move this year too, shifting from outside to middle linebacker. While Duellman remains at one outside spot, where he was an honorable mention allconference pick, Sam Syryczuk fills the other spot. After being unable to play with the varsity last year due to WIAA transfer rules, he is a welcome addition to the starting defense. “He’s really good defensively, really puts his body out there,” Kroeplin said of Syryczuk, who came to Gilman from Thorp. “He has a lot built up from last year not getting to play varsity, he’s ready for this year. I can’t wait to see that.” “As a junior Sam might have started there for us,” Rosemeyer said. “He’s a nice mature person to have in there. It will be a little bit of a transition for Grady to play middle linebacker. He’s been progressing. The second week was a lot better than the first week and he did a good job in the scrimmage. It will be a little bit of a learning process, but he’s smart enough and he’s got the speed where he can go sideline to sideline. You can’t just compare him to what Julian could do because that was pretty special. But Grady will hold his own.”

Up front, Person should remain a quick, disruptive force at nose guard. He’s earned all-conference honors there the past two seasons. Gilman will have new starters at the end positions with McAlpine and Caleb Marion, while Wisocky and Bertsinger will battle for time as well. Joey Syryczuk backs up Person.

“Wayne works pretty darn hard at D-end,” Person said. “Both of them do, Wayne and Caleb.”

Branden Ustianowski and Grunseth give Gilman solid experience at safety with Max Ustianowski serving as the top backup. The rest of Gilman’s defensive depth is young with Zagorski at middle linebacker and Dawson Krizan, a new sophomore, and freshmen Cooper Krug and Anthony Syryczuk at outside linebacker.

“I think we all have the chemistry together,” Branden Ustianowski said. “We like to hold that zero on the scoreboard.”

The Central Wisconsin East features the Pirates, Thorp, Owen-Withee, Greenwood and Athens from the old Clover-Wood and Alma Center Lincoln, who the Pirates met in conference play the last two years.

Athens went undefeated in its first eight-man season a year ago, while Thorp was 7-2, losing only to Athens and state fi- nalist Luck. Owen-Withee had no seniors last year and brings its entire starting units back. Rosemeyer said Greenwood also looked solid in the scrimmage film he saw.

By pulling out of Marawood Conference a year early in the WIAA’s conference realignment process, Athens, Thorp and Owen-Withee are ineligible for the post-season yet this year, but the games against them will still matter in Gilman’s quest to get back into the 16-team WIAA bracket.

“Definitely winning conference again this year again (is a goal),” Person said. “That would be nice being three-time champions.”

“I think we have a good chance of going to state,” Kroeplin said. “I could see it happening.”

“I think we’re definitely capable of both of those,” Ustianowski said. “We just have to show it. I think our success of the past two years influences it too. It makes everyone want it a little more.”