Fowlerville football: What to know about 2023 Gladiators
FOWLERVILLE — Fowlerville will take the football field in 2023 under a new head coach, but there is still an air of familiarity around the program.
New head coach Matt Copeland is a 1994 Fowlerville graduate who has been on the coaching staff for years. In all, four members of the Gladiator coaching staff are Fowlerville grads.
“It feels like a continuation,” junior quarterback Wyatt Soli said. “I’ve had our offensive coordinator on JV, as well. Having a new coach isn’t anything different. I’ve had him for the past four years.”
The change the Gladiators would like to see is in the win-loss record. After winning playoff games in 2019 and 2020, they have gone 2-7 and 3-6 the past two seasons.
Following are observations about a 2023 Fowlerville team looking to get back in the playoff hunt:
More footballs in the air
Fowlerville has been known as a run-first team over the years, but the Gladiators have weapons capable of moving the ball through the air.
Soli is in his first season as the varsity quarterback, but has two third-year starting receivers in senior Brendan Ray on the outside and junior Will Shrader in the slot.
“Me and Wyatt have always had great chemistry,” Ray said. “We’re really close. It’s nice having one of my best friends at the quarterback position.”
Shrader has 34 career catches for 426 yards and five touchdowns, while Ray has 33 catches for 337 yards. Both players were more productive two years ago when Fowlerville threw more often.
“My personal style is to run the football, control the line of scrimmage, control the clock, keep your defense off the field,” Copeland said. “Coach (Nick) Semke, our offensive coordinator, is of a newer generation, more of a controlled pass, screen pass kind of guy.”
Speedy senior Adam Aeschliman will also play a key role as a receiver and running sweeps.
One-two punch in backfield
Blake Juopperi was Fowlerville’s leading rusher last season, carrying the ball 90 times for 424 yards and eight touchdowns.
He won’t be overworked in the backfield, however, even though he’s capable of shouldering the load.
Juopperi will play a more prominent role on defense this year at linebacker and the Gladiators have depth at the running back position. Junior Ryan Perras, who have five carries for 19 yards last year, will spell Juopperi on offense.
“We’re hoping he fills an outside linebacker position on defense,” Copeland said. “With both those guys playing defense, we’re giving them a break on offense at that running back spot. It’s about fitting guys into the right spot. There’ll be times you see both guys in the backfield together.”
Building blocks on defense
With the speed of Aeschliman and the instinctive play of Shrader at safety, the back end of Fowlerville’s defense should be tough to beat.
The Gladiators have an impact player at linebacker in Juopperi, whose role on defense will increase after he made 33 tackles last season.
“The defense could be a big strength,” Juopperi said. “We’re looking to be aggressive and just play for the ball.”
Tough early schedule
The Gladiators will learn right away how they stack up against high-caliber competition.
They open the season with Corunna, which returns speedy twins Wyatt and Tarick Bower from an 8-3 team. Fowlerville will also face Mason (12-1) and Williamston (7-3) by the fifth week.
“Everybody’s going to tell you they’ve got a tough schedule, but in our league with Mason, St. Johns, Williamston, Haslett, Fowlerville there aren’t too many down weeks in there,” Copeland said. “Even Lansing Eastern, their coach really has that program on the rise, so there’s no holes in our schedule right now.”
Beyond those games, the Gladiators have long road trips to Midland Bullock Creek (77 miles) and Adrian (60 miles) for nonleague games. Maybe it’s time to get Livingston County rival Pinckney (only 21 miles) back on the schedule.
2023 FOWLERVILLE SCHEDULE
Aug. 24 — Corunna
Aug. 31 — at Midland Bullock Creek
Sept. 8 — Mason
Sept. 15 — St. Johns
Sept. 22 — at Williamston
Sept. 29 — Haslett
Oct. 6 — at Lansing Eastern
Oct. 13 — at Adrian
Oct. 20 — Charlotte
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Fowlerville football: What to know about 2023 Gladiators
