ISHPEMING – The new football coaching staff at Westwood High School was made official by unanimous votes at a NICE School Board meeting on Monday evening.

School administrators named longtime Ishpeming High School assistant varsity coach Scott Syrjala as the Patriots’ head coach several weeks ago after John Jessen decided to step away from the position.

In two unanimous 7-0 votes, the board removed the “interim” label from Syrjala and 11 other coaches for the district’s varsity, junior varsity and Aspen Ridge Middle School teams, according to NICE Superintendent Bryan DeAugustine.

Separate votes were taken for paid and for volunteer coaches.

Jessen decided to step away from the head varsity job not long after Syrjala was hired, and will now be the JV head coach.

Other paid positions approved Monday were for varsity assistant coaches Steve Bluhm and Tim Dellangelo and JV assistant Jim Burke.

Volunteer coaches OK’d by the board were varsity assistants Chad Hewitt and Brad Wiljanen, JV assistants Jake Wolf and Steve Traver and the entire middle school football coaching staff – Tony Mariuzza, Earl Mann and Dan Carlson.

The Westwood High School teams began practice with their annual Midnight Madness event in the early morning hours of Aug. 10, the first day practice is allowed by the Michigan High School Athletic Association.

The Patriots’ first high school games this season are at home on Saturday, Aug. 29, against Chetek-Weyerhaeuser, Wisconsin, two towns located roughly 300 miles away in the west-central part of that state. The unusual doubleheader opens with the JV game at noon with the varsity to follow at 2:30 p.m.

Steve Brownlee can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 252.