Four downs with Bishop Brossart

New Mustangs coach Adam Kozerski teaches calculus at Bishop Brossart.

Kozerski, the son of former Cincinnati Bengals lineman and Holy Cross coach Bruce Kozerski, replaces Paul Wiggins, who headed not quite 15 miles north-northwest to take over at Newport. 

Yes, last season’s 5-6 record ended a five-year streak of winning seasons, but after a 2-4 start, Brossart won three of its last four and clinched the 2-seed in Class A, District 4 before falling to Dayton in the first round of the playoffs.

“Absolutely it was 100% encouraging,” senior lineman Joe Schroeder said.

FIRST DOWN – RECAP

The 2023 season didn’t start well, and not just because Brossart lost at home to Walton-Verona (27-14) and Bethel-Tate (18-14). The Mustangs gained only 159 yards on the Bearcats and 191 against the Tigers. 

“I saw a team that was really hard-nosed, that caught a couple tough breaks,” Kozerski said. “They really did compete against some good teams.”

Senior lineman Joe Schroeder said not having a defensive end and 2024 graduate Henry Goering (who had 24 tackles and 11 sacks his last two seasons seven tackles and three sacks before going out with an injury) didn’t help.

“It was unfortunate,” Schroeder said. “A lot of the new guys, younger guys, had to step in. They did a good job; we just couldn’t find a way to get all those sacks back.”

Good thing now-senior Cameron Mandel was in the backfield – he ran for 199 yards and four touchdowns at Pineville and another 68 at Nicholas County. Junior safety Nick Cozzi intercepted two passes against Pineville and another at Nicholas County.

Losses to Lloyd, Paris and Ludlow followed, but the Mustangs beat Holy Cross, clinched the 2-seed in the district with a 57-28 road win at Trimble County and a 43-0 shutout of Pendleton County. Brossart was 3-2 away from Munninghoff Family Stadium and 2-4 at home including the season-ending 14-0 home loss to Dayton.

SECOND DOWN – OFFENSE

Kozerski the younger thought playing for and coaching with his dad at Holy Cross (he was a tight end and linebacker from 2009-10) was a master class in game preparation. 

“He has seen so much film, honest to God, he could watch both cornerbacks, tell you how to beat them and then tell you how the center missed his block,” Adam Kozerski said. “He watches every play once, and he sees what all 22 guys are doing.”

If you saved a concise compendium of Brossart’s 2023 season to your iPad, the first thing you might’ve noticed is, the Mustangs were mostly a run-oriented team – their 2,342 total yards included 1,423 on the ground and 919 through the air; they scored 244 points, about 22 a game.

While Kozerski would like a little more consistent passing offense, he’s overjoyed Mandel is back – he ran for 732 and eight touchdowns.

“I’ll tell you what, he is a hard runner, he is an athletic guy, a dual-threat kind of running back where we can throw it up and he’ll go up and get it,” Kozerski said. “But he has no problem sticking his nose between the tackles, and he has just enough to get him around the outside.”

Schroeder is happy, too.

“He is an amazing running back and a good guy as well,” Schroeder said. “He runs like a bus. He runs hard; his goal is to win.”

Senior Tyler Holtz is the starting quarterback; he said he’s a seven-step drop-back passer.

“I think that he’s very comfortable throwing from the pocket,” Kozerski said. “… but I think there will be a nice balance of pocket passing and rollout passing.”

Senior Keegan Gulley, who threw for 504 yards and six touchdowns last year, moves to receiver. Senior Landon Geyer is the other projected wideout, and sophomore Quentin Tischner is the tight end.

The offensive line is mostly set: senior Shane Willike at center, juniors Matthew Goering and Nolan Kruse at guards and Schroeder and junior William Webster at the tackles.

“I’ve been playing with either four or five of these linemen for two years, now, on JV,” Holtz said. “They’ve all developed very well.”

THIRD DOWN – DEFENSE

One thing Brossart would like a little unbalanced is the defensive output – the Mustangs gave up 255 points, a little more than 23 a game. 

The Mustangs have the same challenge as most Class A schools – most of the offense has to play defense. Nine of the 11 starters likely will play both sides.

Kozerski said Brossart will run a 3-4 defense. Schroeder expects to start at nose guard – a logical choice for someone who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 225 pounds. Webster and Kruse are the ends, Geyer and Mandel (whose 24 tackles are most among the returnees) are the outside linebackers, and Willike (21 tackles with seven for loss and three sacks) and Tischner are inside.

Cozzi and junior cornerbacks Isaac Amin and Anthony Schuck are the only three who play defense alone. Gulley and Cozzi are the safeties.

FOURTH DOWN – GOALS/OUTLOOK

Brossart’s nine-game schedule includes home games against Pineville (Sept. 6), Nicholas County (Sept. 13), Paris (Oct. 4) and district games against Ludlow (Oct. 18) and Trimble County (Nov. 1). Road games are Aug. 23 at Walton-Verona, Sept. 20 at Lloyd, Oct. 11 vs. Holy Cross at Thomas More University and Nov. 1 vs. Pendleton County at at Phillip A. Sharp Middle School in Falmouth.

Kozerski said he still has a lot of love for Holy Cross.

“We’re just gonna go in, we’re gonna do our thing,” Kozerski said. “We’re gonna put our guys in the best position to make plays. I’m going to do everything I can to focus on not beating Holy Cross, but just winning a ballgame for Bishop Brossart.”

Kozerski could’ve coached younger teams, but he loves the challenge of helping high schoolers – which could be as challenging as explaining polar equations, conic sections and trigonometry.

“Not only the puzzle of trying to dissect our opponent, but also the puzzle of the teenage psychology,” he said. “… Figuring out what works for these kids really is, it’s rewarding – and it’s fun.”

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