SportsNow Super 7 Team No. 7: Marian Colts
You could say Billy O’Gurek was groomed for this.
Throughout the 2023 season O’Gurek would hold detailed conversations over the headsets every game with legendary Marian head coach Stan Dakosty, going over plays, going over strategy, going over situations.
He quickly learned what was going through the mind of the Hall of Fame coach, whom he played for as a teenager and with whom he coached as an assistant the past four seasons. There were discussions about discipline, how to handle a booster club and all of the duties of a head coach.
Every game, every practice was a lesson.
For O’Gurek, it’s time to put those lessons to good use.
When the Colts entertain Hanover Area in Friday’s season opener, O’Gurek will be the man in charge on the Marian sideline, taking over as the head coach following Dakosty’s retirement in November.
The winningest coach in Schuylkill County and District 11 history, Dakosty compiled a career record of 326-177-3 that spanned 44 seasons. He guided the Colts to the 1990 PIAA Class A state championship, the first team from Schuylkill County to capture state gold. Dakosty’s squads reached the Eastern final three other times (1993, 1998, 2000), won seven District 11 titles (1985, 1989, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2007, 2015), reached the District 11 title game six other times, won four Eastern Conference crowns (1980-86, 1992, 2013) and played in 47 playoff games.
As he guided his Colts through an afternoon workout Wednesday on the school’s front lawn, O’Gurek said things were going smoothly so far.
“The transition has been real good. It’s been smooth,” said O’Gurek, 40, a 2001 Marian graduate. “I’m fortunate that the entire coaching staff decided to return. That’s made the transition real easy. In addition to coaching your team, then you don’t have to worry about your coaches understanding how you do things, things like that. The kids have been pretty good, plus the relationships you build with your players were already there.
“It’s been a learning process, but it’s been good.”
What O’Gurek will try to do is guide the Colts to their first championship since 2015. Marian got close last season, ending a streak of six straight losing seasons and winning its first playoff game since 2016. The Colts went 7-5 overall a year ago, reaching the District 11 Class A championship game before falling to Minersville.
Several pieces of that squad return, including Buffalo-bound tight end/defensive end Michael Gelatko, tailback Rory Dixon and four starting offensive linemen: seniors Aidan Milkovits (6-2, 260), Julian Hermany (6-0, 230), Zach Holt (6-0, 225) and Mason Soult (6-1, 210).
Dixon became the first freshman in Marian’s storied history to rush for 1,000 yards a year ago, running for 1,005 yards and scoring eight touchdowns. Gelatko was the team’s leading receiver, hauling in 23 passes for 381 yards.
Defensively, linebackers Charlie Hower and Holt, defensive end Gelatko and interior linemen Milkovits, Hermany and Soult return from a group that led the area in scoring defense by allowing just 13.8 points per game.
“We’re trying to put a little bit of a tweak on our offense … more single-back stuff,” O’Gurek said of the things he’s going to change. “We’re going to run our same defense as defensive coordinator J.D. Hackenberg returned.
“Last year we were really good defensively and if we were a little bit better on offense, we could have been better as a team. If we’re going to achieve what we think we can, we have to be better on offense.”
The key for the Colts will be finding a quarterback to replace Bruce Hopeck, who threw for 1,364 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. Senior Dylan Rodino, junior Nick Shigo and freshman Gregory Tirpak were battling for that position in preseason camp.
Rodino, who suffered a broken femur in last year’s district final, is one of five brothers who played last season for the Colts. Older brothers James and Jesse, who both had all-star seasons a year ago, graduated. Younger brothers Damian, a junior running back/linebacker, and Dominick, a sophomore tight end/linebacker, join Dylan on this year’s squad.
“I’m very excited for the season,” said Dylan Rodino, who started on defense last season. “It looks like we’re going to pass the ball a little more and spread it out to our receivers.
“I need to control the offense a little more. I need to put the ball where it should be.”
O’Gurek joined the Marian staff in 2017 after Dakosty retired the first time. He was a member of Pat Morgans’ staff for three seasons, then stayed when Dakosty returned in 2020.
An auditor for the state’s attorney general’s office, the 40-year-old Summit Hill native tried not to think about “replacing” his former coach and mentor. He said it will hit him Friday, when the Colts climb the steps from the school locker room and enter the field through the archway that bears Dakosty’s name.
