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Robust roster greets new coach: Westwood grad Gilles heads up Patriots with 2 dozen players

Westwood grad Gilles heads up Patriots with 2 dozen players

By Steve Brownlee 7 min read

ISHPEMING -- New head coach Sam Gilles would seem to have laid a foundation for future success -- and maybe in the present too -- with the Westwood High School football program.

Start with the numbers -- the Patriots have just about two dozen players on both varsity and junior varsity squads.

"And there are about 30 to 35 kids in our middle school program," said the first-year coach, who was named to his position in December. "Hopefully that will build a base here. To get those kinds of numbers, it's important to build relationships with the kids."

And he has a vested interest in doing that as a Westwood alumnus who had been serving as an assistant coach at Negaunee for several years.

"And Luke Gray as our defensive coordinator is really somebody I can lean on," Gilles said.

Gray is also head coach of the Patriots boys basketball team that reached the MHSAA Division 3 state semifinals just over a year ago in the spring of 2025.

And he's also a graduate of this high school in the NICE Community Schools district.

"We've been working on the fundamentals, so I figure other things will take care of themselves from that," Gilles said. "I especially like to have a big effort getting to the football."

That may not mean defense specifically, but that's an area Westwood needs to shore up to taste any success this season. The Patriots gave up at least 42 points in every contested game last fall, going 1-8 with a forfeit win from Gwinn.

"I'm a little familiar with some of our kids, I've seen them in winter basketball games and in the weight room this summer," the coach said. "I'm really happy with what I've seen so far.

"Getting this many guys out is probably the first step to improving. Heck, we have a lot of bodies even compared to when I went here."

He was the the All-Upper Peninsula Large Schools Lineman of the Year in 2018, also netting the same award in his league.

"It's a tough conference," Gilles said about the West PAC. "You have your powerhouses, especially it seems every year with Negaunee, Menominee, Kingsford and Calumet.

"There's basically not one game where you can 'take a week off.' But a brutal conference means you get some good competition if you're fortunate enough to get to the playoffs."

Looking at this year's Patriots, Gilles has installed junior Cohen Ostola as starting quarterback.

"He's one of the smartest football players I've ever met," Gilles said of his 5-foot-10, 185-pound signal caller. "He can not only draw up a play on request, but he'll explain it correctly.

"Cohen gives us a ton of flexibility with both his mental and physical gifts. For example, if the team is lined up wrong, he can correct it on the spot."

Gilles has junior Cliff Fossitt as his backup, though he's a mainly a receiver.

Top wide receivers, though, are juniors Logan Thomas and Ellis King.

"Logan's a great athlete; he's fast, quick, it's kind of crazy to see. He's a young guy with a lot of raw ability," the coach said. "Ellis had a good summer that helped set him apart from others at his position. He really just plays his tail off."

The logjam at the position also includes Fossitt, senior Daks Williams, and juniors Ryan Perry, Jimmy Mattila and Andy Ostola.

The coach plans on a number of backs to carry the load in the rushing game.

"We don't have that one 'guy' that you can give the ball to 30 times a game," Gilles said. "But one kid who has stepped up for us is senior Alex Turek."

Turek is a senior tailback who the coach describes as playing with plenty of physicality and raw talent.

The top fullback is junior Jack Salmi.

"He had a real good summer, I think he's our second- or third-highest squatter," Gilles said about his weight room efforts. "When he gets everything really turned on, he just goes."

Williams will also split time at tailback.

"He's done a good job and had a good summer," the coach said. "He's gotten really strong."

Moving toward blocking schemes, juniors Keighan Scott and Brody Radcliffe are the two main tight ends.

"Both are capable blockers and pass catchers," Gilles said. "They both have improved in a short time with their blocking. It's nice to have do-it-all tight ends."

On the line, the coach had some work to do with just two full-time starters returning, seniors Matt Ostola and Cody Laurila.

A third senior expected to start is Dustin Wing, who hasn't played football since he was a freshman.

"He's wowed us with how quickly he's picking things up," Gilles said. "I'd call him our 'utility player' on the line."

That starting unit should also include juniors Luke Huetter, Will LeClair and Nate Bone.

Many of the same names populate the defensive starting lineup.

On the line, Scott and Salmi will be defensive ends, with Matt Ostola at defensive tackle.

Also figuring in the mix will be Huetter and Wing.

At inside linebacker, Laurila is the No. 1 player.

"He's really stepped it up, he's a big, physical kid," Gilles said of Laurila.

Radcliffe and Wing also figure to be in the inside linebacker mix.

At outside linebacker, Radcliffe and Wing also show up on the depth chart there, joining Cohen Ostola and junior Brody Bartanen.

And in the secondary, receivers and/or backs on offense mostly double up as pass defenders, including Turek, King, Williams and Andy Ostola at cornerback, and Thomas, Perry, Fossitt and Mattila at safety.

"These guys have done a good job of being versatile," Gilles said about the pass defense in general.

For special teams, he's expecting Turek to be the punter, Fossitt the kickoff and placekicker, while earlier this week he was still sorting out who will be a returner among "eight or nine guys."

Playing in MHSAA Division 6 for the fifth straight season, the Patriots fit right in with the Copper Division of the West PAC as the other six teams are in Divisions 5, 6 and 7.

Tonight's opener at Bark River-Harris at 7 p.m. EDT is considered a nonconference game against an Iron Division team from the league.

While the Broncos are a smaller school, they won the division last fall and finished 10-2 that included a run to the Division 8 semifinals before being stopped by eventual state champion Harbor Beach.

Then for Westwood comes six straight league games, the first two at home against Calumet and Menominee, the latter the 2025 state champion in Division 7 with only one close game in the playoffs.

Following are two in a row on the road at Houghton and Gladstone before the conference slate wraps up with a home game vs. Negaunee and at Kingsford.

Finally, the regular season ends with two more Iron Division opponents that are looking to get back to respectability, Gwinn and Manistique.

Story contents based on a telephone interview with Westwood head coach Sam Gilles. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee's email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.

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