The Ishpeming Hematites begin a new era this fall with the replacement of head coach Jeff Olson with George Niemi, who had been the junior varsity coach for several years. Team members include Drake Asgaard, John Corkin, Andy Cox, Bain Delongchamp, Dawson Delongchamp, Victavian Hansen, Chase Jensen, Ty Kauppinen, Jacob Kugler, AJ Martin, Owen Morton, Danny Perry, Ben Pruett, Tanner Romback, Peter Routhier, Ethan Sigala, Tommy Sjoholm, Otto Swanson and Michael Walker. Working with Niemi are assistant coaches Kyle Rundman, Tony Marietti, Mike Walker, Tyler Windahl, Jake Perry, Griffin Lawson and Aaron Corkin. (Photo courtesy George Niemi)

2019 Ishpeming football schedule

(* West PAC Iron Division game)

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Fri., Aug. 30 — * MANISTIQUE, 7 p.m.

Sat., Sept. 7 — * at Lake Linden-Hubbell, 2 p.m.

Fri., Sept. 13 — * at Norway, 7 p.m. ET

Fri., Sept. 20 — WESTWOOD, 7 p.m.

Fri., Sept. 27 — at Negaunee, 7 p.m.

Fri., Oct. 4 — * GWINN, 7 p.m.

Fri., Oct. 11 — * WEST IRON COUNTY, 7 p.m.

Fri., Oct. 18 — * at Munising, 7 p.m.

Thu., Oct. 24 — * BARK RIVER-HARRIS, 7 p.m.

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ISHPEMING — When a legendary football coach decides to hang up his whistle, there might be a lot of changes coming when the new coach takes over.

But with the Ishpeming Hematites, that won’t be the case. Instead, it’ll be pretty much the same game plan fans have seen for years.

Following Jeff Olson’s retirement after more than three decades in charge of the Hematites, where he won three MHSAA Division 7 state titles in four years and made two more state championship appearances, the whistle has been passed to former junior varsity coach George Niemi.

At the end of the first week of practice, Niemi liked what he was seeing.

“Our boys are working hard,” he said. “We’re getting after it. Practice has been going great.”

Just like under Olson, Niemi’s Hematites will be primarily running the Wildcat offense. They’ll also rotate quarterbacks instead of employing a single signal-caller.

“We traditionally don’t really run a quarterback under center,” he said. “We typically run the Wildcat offense, a shotgun-style offense. So we’ve got a three-person rotation; you’ll see Chase Jensen, John Corkin and Otto Swanson getting some snaps in our backfield.

“We also have the luxury of having two people back there who could make those throws in Chase and John.”

They won’t have a shortage of pass catchers, either, when Ishpeming decides to throw.

“When our formation calls for it, we have a couple options out there,” the coach said. “We have Tommy Sjoholm and Peter Routhier and Dawson Delongchamp. Those would be our go-to receivers, but we can also put John and Chase out there if we need a bigger receiver.”

If there’s a strength the Hematites have had over other teams, it’s the offensive line. That’s also true this year with IHS returning three All-Upper Peninsula players. Niemi said what makes his line so strong is that extra effort they’ve put in during the offseason to improve their skills.

“Our offensive line looks fantastic,” he said. “We return All-U.P. and all-conference linemen Jake Kugler, Owen Morton and Ty Kauppinen with some added second-year linemen that were juniors last year, A.J. Martin and Drake Asgaard.

“They put the work in during the summer. Between Jake and Owen, the numbers they’ve put up in the weight room, it’s incredible. They’re squatting over 400 pounds, they’re benching over 300 pounds.

“Ty is right up there, too, with his weightlifting. It’s their work ethic. They’re not afraid to put their hands in the dirt and get on their hip and drive people back. And they’re strong enough to do it.”

Just like a lot of the teams in the West PAC and the U.P. as a whole, Ishpeming will have the majority of its team be two-way players.

“We have a lot of guys who are going to play both sides of the game,” Niemi said. “Some of them, their only break might be a kickoff or a kickoff return. When you only have a roster of 17 kids, there’s going to be a lot of two-way players going there.

“Our D-line is pretty much a mirror. Defensive end-wise, we have Jake and Owen, and in the interior, we have Ty, Drake and A.J. Our linebacking corps is going to be Chase, Otto and Ben Pruett.”

The Hematites’ secondary will be primarily made up of the offensive receiving corps, and overall Niemi likes how his defense shakes out.

“Our secondary looks good,” he said. “We’ve got a cover corner in Tommy and our safety will be John. Some of those receivers that I mentioned earlier will also mix in there as other DBs. Defensively, speed-wise, our linebacking crew has some speed. Our defensive line is solid and athletic and strong. They can contain the edge and they can get after you.”

Another thing that won’t change is Ishpeming’s lack of a kicking game. For a long time, the Hematites have been well known for going for two-point conversions and Niemi said it’s more of the same this year.

“When you talk about Hematite tradition, the one that we’ve had in the recent years past, we do not have a kicker. Surprise, surprise,” he said with a laugh. “That’s the big question everyone asks me. You have big shoes to fill and how are you going to fill those shoes and what are you going to change.

“That’s one of the things we’re not changing. We’re just going to stick with what we do.”

Like the majority of West PAC coaches, Niemi thinks the conference schedule is going to be a difficult one it is loaded as always, and after coaching against the JV teams around the area, he’s well aware of each team’s potential.

“I’ve been asked that question a few times now,” he said about the toughest opponents the Hematites will face. “If you look at the West PAC conference that we’re in, and I was the JV coach last year, if you go back to the JV teams that we played, all those teams were solid.

“Right from the get-go, Manistique had a good group, Lake Linden(-Hubbell) had a group, Norway did, too. The list goes on and on. Those sophomores going into juniors and getting with those coaching staffs at the varsity level, there’s no gimmes on our schedule.

“We’re looking for competitive games week in and week out, and of course, we look forward to our rivalry games with Westwood, Negaunee and Gwinn, right in our backyard. Top to bottom in the West PAC, it’s a great conference this year.”

All in all, Niemi is looking forward to this season and said that he’s already built a strong connection with his players.

“The majority of the kids that are seniors, I coached them as JVs, so we have that relationship,” he said. “A lot of them I’ve coached in basketball. So we have that relationship.

“There’s a reason I got hired as coach and it’s because I was in the system, I know the system, I know the kids. I have the ability to work with the athletes and work with the kids.

“I have a great relationship with them and if our practices prove anything, everything is going great.”

Ryan Stieg can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 252. His email address is rstieg@miningjournal.net.