Stronger version of receiver/return man Gus Wisch eager to have big impact on Chesterton football as a senior

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

So many things must fall into place for an athlete who shows promise at a young age to translate potential into performance against varsity football competition.
The athlete needs for his body to grow the right way. He needs to maintain a strong work ethic, grasp the playbook, stay healthy and beat out the competition to gain snaps in Friday night games under the lights watched by thousands.
One of those areas fall short and the next man up gets the snaps.
Chesterton senior Gus Wisch, a receiver and return man, has given his coaches reason to believe that this will be the year it all falls into place for him.
“Gus has been a guy who (receivers) Coach (Colton) Tuzinski and I have been excited having in the program since he was like in sixth grade,” Trojans head football coach Mark Peterson said. “He would come to those camps and was always athletic and could catch the ball really well, and he’s still doing that. He has grown and continues to physically develop and mature to a point he’s going to be an integral guy for us this season.’”
As a sophomore, Peterson said Wisch was “a skinny-mini when he was a sophomore, even last year.”
Wisch fell behind other receivers when he missed time early last season with a concussion. In a 28-7 win vs. LaPorte in Week 4, Wisch had a big game returning punts, including a 35-yarder that set up a touchdown. In Week 5, he caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from CJ Perez in a 22-21 overtime loss to Valparaiso. He finished the season with seven receptions for 90 yards, averaged 17 yards on his four punt returns and 14.8 yards on kickoff returns.
The coaching staff gave him an offseason blueprint for how he could amplify his role and Wisch has followed it.
“We really pushed the concept of being hard in the weight room,” Peterson said. “Coach (Matt) Wagner does a great job in the weight room and Gus bought in. He ate really well and has put on that extra weight. That’s going to make him a more durable player and make him a better athlete. He’s definitely gotten faster. His time has dropped a little bit and he’s so strong that he’s laterally quicker than he ever has been, really a huge benefit in that regard.”
Running sprints for the track and field team last spring helped, Wisch said.
“I put on about 15, 20 pounds since last year, all credit to Coach Wagner, of course,” Wisch said of the Trojans’ fifth-year strength and conditioning coach. “I feel like I’ve gotten all-around better, faster, stronger, everything.”
In part because of a lack of speed, receiver hasn’t been the deepest position for the Trojans in recent seasons. Last season, Louis Raffin, the team’s top receiver, missed the first seven games after suffering a broken collarbone in practice days before the season-opener.
On paper, the position shapes up as a strength this season with Raffin, Patrick Mochen and Wisch bringing speed and experience and junior Max Soffin lending depth at both running back and slot receiver. Mike Rone also is a pass-catching threat from his tight end position.
“I feel like we have a lot more speed than we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Wisch said.
He anticipates getting a hefty dose of his snaps at slot. He said he enjoys the position because of “the versatility. I get to do a lot of different things out there. I get to run deep routes, short routes, block tons of different people, jet sweeps. I kind of get to do pretty much everything on the field.”
Wisch had a big gain on a jet sweep in Tuesday night’s non-tackling scrimmage at Westchester Middle School against a loaded Andrean team. It was the last football activity, aside from weights, for the team until Aug. 4.