Gilmour building on 11-1 season in 2018

Coach Chris Kosiorek and the Lancers returned to the practice field — a temporary field while Weber Stadium is renovated — looking to return to the playoffs in 2019. Chris Lillstrung has the story.

As workers laid new turf Aug. 1 amid Gilmour’s Vern Weber Stadium renovation, a Lancers player joked with his teammates that the next portion of practice was headed to that pristine surface.

“We’ll just work around it,” he said.

They went all the way around it, actually, as Gilmour coach Chris Kosiorek led his squad to an adjacent soccer field, serving as the football practice site until the stadium renovation is done.

On an unofficial holiday in Ohio — Day 1 of two-a-days — the stadium isn’t the only facet in Gates Mills embarking on a bold renovation project.

Because after the campaign the Lancers enjoyed last fall, and after graduating a program-redefining senior class, stepping on new turf is inevitable.

“Really, Aug. 1 for everyone, it’s just like time to kick back into things,” Lancers senior wide receiver/defensive back Aidan Muchnicki said. “Everyone is basically full-focused, like football mode, and we get back into it with two-a-day practices. And from than on out, it’s football, football, football non-stop. “Whatever you may have been doing before in the summer, you’ve been balancing it out a little bit, like maybe a job and whatever you do. But when it comes around to Aug. 1, you’re just locked into football, pretty much all day almost.” Paced by 2018 Tony Fisher Award recipient C.J. Charleston, Gilmour was locked in for a memorable run last fall, one of its best in a proud program history. The Lancers went 11-1, featuring its first 10-0 regular season since 2004, then a Division V regional quarterfinal win over Columbiana Crestview and a 50-43 D-V triple-overtime regional semifinal heartbreaker against eventual state champion Orrville.

The seniors on that squad, including Charleston (2,585 rushing yards, 51 touchdowns) and D-V AllOhio linebacker Jack Kosar (41 tackles for loss), endured a 1-9 season as freshmen in 2015 and transformed Gilmour’s fortune over their tenure.

Those who inherit the role as program stewards now are hopeful their example — not to mention the benefit of two extra weeks of refining in practices and games in the postseason — will keep the good times rolling a while longer. “Going two games past regular season, and having that run with Orrville, a triple-overtime game, it kind of gives us an idea of like how hard you’re going to have to play if you want to go all the way to a state championship,” Lancers senior lineman Josh Miavitz said. “And that has been evident throughout the summer workouts. We’ve kind of modeled it after that (Orrville) game.

“So if we did four rounds of something, we’re going to do seven and keep doing it to the best of our ability. You have to be ready to go three overtimes. I think that helps everyone on the team, even the freshmen, to understand what to do to be successful this year. I think it helped. It gave us that experience to know what it takes to go all the way.”

As a new group forges its own identity, Kosiorek returns a fairly young squad, which currently stands at 33, including nine seniors. There are four returning starters each on offense and defense from this time a year ago.

“We had a lot of guys play last year,” Kosiorek said. “We were fortunate to have some lopsided victories — a few years back, we were on the other end. Unfortunately, we were playing younger guys because we didn’t want to get our older guys hurt. But last year, most of our guys that are returning have varsity experience, whether they were starters or whether they were coming in the third, fourth quarter.

“They are understanding their roles, which we still have to identify. But practicing an extra couple of weeks is a great thing to do. We want them to understand it took a lot to get to that point. We’ve got to make sure our guys understand that just showing up each day is not going to get us there. It’s putting in the time we’re trying to ask them to do.”

Time put in to continue a renovation project — in its stadium and in its ranks — that has gone pretty well recently.

“(Last year’s seniors) came in freshman year to that 1-9 record, and they always mentioned that as motivation for working hard,” Muchnicki said. “They knew what it took. They realized what they had to do to get on the same page, ready or go for each and every single game. And I think, just their leadership and work ethic, has kind of transferred on to us a little bit.

“We’re hoping to be those leaders that they were when they were here.”