Zupke tackles his way through Homestead
Zupke stands amongst his fellow teammates before the Arrowhead game. Homestead won the game 24-20 in a hard-fought match. “It didn’t matter who, he would go hard no matter what. When he went against Ben Bredeson (All-State offensive linemen), if Gage isn’t up against him, the game would have been different. Even though there was a roughly 60 pound difference between the two, Gage went up against him the whole game,” Coach Fugate said.
From fighting in the trenches as a defensive-end to taking down opponents on the wrestling mat, Gage Zupke, senior, has fought his way through his four years at Homestead.
Zupke started his high school football career on the freshman “A” team, followed by a junior varsity, a scout team stint his sophomore year and a starting varsity role as Homestead’s lead defensive-end his junior and senior year. Zupke was a second team all-conference defensive-end his senior year, registering 46 total tackles, five sacks, two pass deflects and one forced fumble.
He played alongside two other seniors, David Hathaway, fellow defensive-end and David Pfaff, defensive lineman.
“Playing with Gage has been one of the best things that has happened to me. He expects excellence and great effort 110 percent of the time. He makes the whole defensive line better by leading by example even though he is a very quiet guy. He does what he is told and has made me compete for my spot in drills as well as on the field,” Pfaff said.
Coach Fritz Rauch and Coach Tom Fugate had the opportunity to coach Zupke as the defensive coordinator and the defensive line coaches, respectively.
“Gage has represented every single good thing in high school football. He leads by example with a great work ethic; he is a non-selfish kid. He also is a tough dude, playing through pain and never complaining. In the end, he is an all-around good guy, good student, good person and overall good student-athlete,” Coach Rauch said.
Coach Fugate added, ”Gage spent a lot of his free time working on his technique. His junior year during our summer youth camp, in July, he would work on his stance and footwork during the water breaks in between stations. Every rep seemed to be an opportunity for Gage to get better. He also related to all the grade levels, not just the seniors; he reached out to everyone on the defensive line.”
Zupke poses with the starting defensive line during a pep rally. This would be the second year that Zupke was a starter for Homestead. “It was a great experience to watch and learn from Gage, his work ethic really showed what you can accomplish when you put in the time and effort. I worked with him a lot during the off seasons and seasons, he helped out a lot and pushed me to be my best which really helped both him and me improve,” Hathaway said.
Zupke has spent his winters wrestling upstairs in the main gym, going head-to-head against his fellow teammates. He spent his freshman year on the JV team, refining his skills and understanding exactly how wrestling works. He has shown improvement each year, as he followed up his freshman year with a varsity appearance his sophomore, junior and senior year. In his junior year, Zupke traveled to state as the only representative from his grade.
“I got invested in wrestling because I was wrestling around with my friend Connor Scholtus and he was beating me up, and he told me he did wrestling and I wanted to know what he was doing, so I joined. I got to the level I’m at now because of hard work and dedication. My goal for the season is to place at state,” Zupke said.
Zupke looks to improve on his last year’s mark and travel to state again hopefully medaling before the season is all said and done. Zupke has started the season undefeated in his matches; however, he started the season late with an injury. “This year has been tough for Gage as he started with an injury and hasn’t had the challenge he’s needed in practice to get consistently better,” teammate Drew Waller, senior, said.
Zupke has wrestled along with fellow classmates for four years, sharing his his insights and leadership along the journey.
“Gage is one of those guys who really keeps the team together. During practice, he’s always setting an example for the rest of us by working his hardest, and his hard work shows.He respects everyone on the team and is always ready to crack a joke,” teammate Mark Usatinsky, senior, said.
Coach Ernie Millard has coached Zupke throughout his four years. Gage is “one of the toughest kids I have ever coached, super hard working, works through injures, never complains, quiet leader, nobody dislikes him and he treats everyone very well,” Coach Millard said.
No matter what Zupke finds himself doing in the future, there is sure to be his hard work and dedication surrounding it, as he has showcased these traits here at Homestead.
Zupke celebrates with his team after taking first in the New Berlin West tournament. Zupke has been on varsity the past three years. “Gage has been extremely committed this year. I have always known him to be determined for something he cares about, but I think, this being his senior year, he has just wanted to take on anything that was presented to him. I think Gage’s greatest accomplishment is his motivation positively affecting other people as well. I know he has affected me,” Bryce Counsellor, senior, said.
Connor Hanson is a senior on the varsity football team. He will be a two-sport athlete this year, participating in football and track. He has been dubbed...
