GILMAN 48, FREDERIC 12 - Complete performance for Pirates in win over Frederic

The Gilman Pirates scored touchdowns on their first five offensive possessions Friday and added a big one from its defense too while staying unbeaten onethird of the way through the season with a 48-12 rout of visiting Frederic.

The performance may have been Gilman’s most complete win in its 3-0 start. The Pirates executed with the run and the pass on offense and shut down Frederic’s usually-strong passing attack to quickly douse the upset hopes of an opponent they felt would provide a good challenge in this North Central Conference crossover.

“We had some good plays early and got some good momentum going,” Gilman head coach Robin Rosemeyer said. “They moved the ball on us a little bit and got a few first downs. When they cut it 28-6, we were able to score right before halftime with a drive with under two minutes to go. That was a big deal, and then scoring right away to start the second half was a nice 14 points together.”

Junior Kolby Keepers had a huge game for Gilman, rushing for 118 yards and three touchdowns on just nine carries, plus he led the Pirates in total tackles with 10, including a sack.

Keepers’ impact on the game was immediate. On Gilman’s second offensive play, following a Frederic punt, he shot through a hole at the line of scrimmage and sprinted to a 61-yard touchdown that put the Pirates on top 6-0 with 6:52 left in the first quarter.

“It was the first time that we were able to get Kolby some more opportunities to run the ball,” Rosemeyer said. “It was the first opportunity where we were able to use him between the tackles a little bit. His speed and toughness combination really sticks out and his ability to just get extra yards after contact. We blocked it OK, but he’s always going to get those couple extra yards, which is a big deal.”

The early touchdown came on a play the Pirates put in earlier in the week.

“It was a new formation just to get him going on a wide trap,” Rosemeyer said. “We overloaded one side with their manto- man defense and then wanted to go back against the grain with him going to their weak side. He made a nice cutback, and we had guys downfield blocking.”

On Gilman’s second drive, which covered 60 yards, Keepers turned a short pass from quarterback Logan Halida into a 20-yard gain. Three plays later, Halida fired a strike over the middle to Sawyer Winger for a 10-yard touchdown. Winger also caught the two-point pass in the left side of the end zone for a quick 14-0 lead.

Halida wound up six for six in passing for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Beau Pockat completed his only pass for 13 yards to make it a perfect day for Gilman in the passing game.

“Our receivers ran some good routes, caught some good balls,” Rosemeyer said. “We had a pretty nice mix where we where throwing the ball and running the ball. We were able to throw the ball on first down. We got into some positions on their side of the field where we were able to take some chances on first down and loosen them up and were able to convert.”

Frederic got two first downs on its third drive, but the possession ended in disaster for the Vikings when pressure from Keepers on third and six forced a rushed throw over the middle from quarterback Royce Anderson that went right to Gilman linebacker Henry Syryczuk, who easily bounced off a couple of arm tackles and got a late block from Cooper Krug that sprung him for a 66-yard pick-six that made it 20-0 two plays into the second quarter.

“Henry had some good drops all night as far as his pass depth drops,” Rosemeyer said. “The pressure forced the quarterback to throw it up and he kind of threw it up to no one but Henry. It was a good team play there.”

Halida’s 23-yard punt return set up a short 26-yard scoring drive that ended with a 5-yard touchdown run by Keepers. Keepers also caught the two-point pass for a 28-0 lead.

Frederic was able to get into the end zone after that for the first points allowed by Gilman’s defense this season. A 23yard run by Leif Lahti with a 15-yard personal foul added on got Frederic into the red zone and the Vikings cashed in with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Anderson to Riley Cummings on fourth and goal.

That score came with 3:12 left in the first half and gave the Pirates plenty of time to answer. Keepers had a 15-yard run and Halida hit Krug for an 18-yard completion on the drive. After a timeout with 30 seconds left, Halida lofted a 28yard scoring strike to Tony Syryczuk to give Gilman a 36-6 halftime lead.

“Tony was running more of a clear out route on that one,” Rosemeyer said. “It was more for the tight end and running back underneath to pop open. We had pretty good protection and the other guys weren’t really open, so Tony just kind of made a break for where the opening was, Logan saw him and made a good throw. He kind of threw him open.”

A 32-yard kickoff return by Keepers put Gilman on Frederic’s 43-yard line to start the second half. The Pirates turned that short field into a 4-yard touchdown run by Keepers. Trevin Duellman forced a fourthquarter fumble that was recovered by Dawson Grunseth at Frederic’s 16-yard line. Alex Copenhaver covered those 16 yards in two plays, scoring from the six on the second one to make it 48-6 with 4:27 left.

Frederic finally got a big play out of its passing game with 1:56 left, scoring on Lahti’s 47-yard catch and run.

Gilman finished with 352 total yards, including 244 on the ground. Syryczuk had 42 yards on seven carries. Five different receivers caught passes. Keepers caught two for 26 yards and Winger caught two for 23 yards.

Anderson was held to five of 12 passing for 65 yards. The Pirates intercepted three passes with Krug and Halida also getting picks.

“I thought it was the best our pass defense has played all year,” Rosemeyer said. “They really did a good job knocking balls down. We had three interceptions.”

Frederic fell to 1-2, but it is a team the Pirates think they could see again.

“Frederic has some good players,” Rosemeyer said. “They have good defensive ends, they’re big inside, they’re pretty athletic. It was a good group to go against. They are a pretty formidable team. They’re going to be a playoff team we’re quite certain.”

Next up for Gilman is the team’s first road game of the season Friday at winless Cornell. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. The Pirates are back at home Sept. 19 for one of the state’s top eight-player games of the regular season when they host McDonell Central.