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“Hopefully they can move people because we’re going to run, and then when we’re done running, we’re going to run. After that, we’re going to run.” — Tabb Lonergan, Gwinn football head coach, referring to the Modeltowners’ offensive line and the team’s style of offense

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GWINN — The Gwinn High School football team won its first playoff game in 21 years last season.

Iron Mountain's Bryce Petrantonio, left, finds daylight to run as he is pursued by Gwinn's Carl Peterson during their MHSAA Division 8 high school football playoff game played at the Mountaineers' stadium on Nov. 6. (Iron Mountain Daily News file photo)

The Modeltowners’ road win over East Jordan in the first round marked the program’s third postseason appearance in the past five years, with three now also being the number of head coaches they’ve had in that same span.

Tabb Lonergan has been with the program since the late Dion Brown had taken it over, and Lonergan remained on Ben Olsen’s staff after Brown tragically passed away in 2020.

Now with Olsen and his family making a move to Kingsford, the keys have been handed over again.

Brown convinced Lonergan to get into coaching again in Gwinn after coming back to the area from downstate a few years ago. Now without the two faces that Lonergan coached with for the past few years, there’s a fresh feeling in the model town.

“It’s kind of surreal and a little bit different,” Lonergan said. “There’s no Dion (Brown), and Coach (Ben) Olsen went over to Kingsford, so kind of used to seeing those faces in the program.

The Gwinn Modeltowners huddle between plays during a game against Ishpeming on Sept. 28, 2018. (Journal file photo)

“But we have new coaches, new excitement and new energy, so things are going really well.”

Lonergan praised the foundation that Brown built in his short time in Gwinn, and now after the recent playoff appearances, it has become an expectation like Brown had hoped.

With a new staff, time will tell if postseason football remains a tradition in Gwinn.

“The expectation was building to get to the playoffs, and now I think the expectation is that we’re going to get to the playoffs every year,” Lonergan said. “It’s never rebuild, it’s build on what we got and move on.”

The Modeltowners lost key seniors such as Reid Hill, Cameron Ghiringhelli and Mastin Love, who were selected to this summer’s Upper Peninsula Football All-Star Game.

However, Gwinn returns the majority of last year’s defense, has a group of third-year varsity players and will host a “massive” offensive line, according to the head coach.

“Hopefully they can move people because we’re going to run, and then when we’re done running, we’re going to run,” Lonergan said. “After that, we’re going to run.”

Carrying the ball on those running plays will be seniors Carl Peterson and Keven Noble, with a couple other contributors in the backfield. There will be some new faces on the field for Gwinn this season, and it appears that the Modeltowners are flying under the radar among U.P. squads.

“I’m excited, I think we’re going to surprise a lot of teams, and that we’re better than people think or expect,” Lonergan said. “There’s not a lot of names that they’re familiar with; there’s going to be a whole lot of new names being called this year.”

Things are staying mostly the same on the defensive side of the ball, with a couple of new wrinkles, and some new plays on offense, Lonergan said. He added that Gwinn is lucky to have the veterans it does, and that their experience will be crucial when the Modeltowners host Bark River-Harris in the season opener at 7 p.m. Friday.

“I think everyone thinks that our talent has graduated away over the last two years, and I don’t think that our talent has graduated,” Lonergan said. “I think that we have plenty of talent, (and) like I said we have these new coaches that have great energy, they’re very passionate, they’re pillars in the community, so the football program’s in a good place right now.”

Travis Nelson can be reached by email at tnelson@miningjournal. net.