BLUFFTON, Ohio (WLIO) — The Bluffton Pirates wrapped up a season to remember in 2024, finishing 13-2 and advancing all the way to the Division VI state semifinals. For 10th-year head coach Jeff Richards, the ending wasn't what they hoped for, but last year's run gave his team a wealth of experience to build on.

"You know, a lot of those guys that were really young last year, they were, you know, subs or role players last year that need to step into bigger roles," Richards said. "They got, you know, five more weeks of practice. So that gave them more opportunities to get better. And then you've got this culture where, you know, 12-2 in 2023, 13-2 last year, they're used to winning a lot of games and that competitive drive is really fueling them."

The Pirates graduated 15 seniors, including four all-state standouts — Landen Worcester, Griffin Stackhouse, Xavier Diller and Quinn Eachus. This fall, Bluffton returns six starters on offense and four on defense. While the 2025 roster looks different from last season's, the focus and drive remain unchanged.

"They're a different group, their attitudes are different. Their mentality is a little bit different, but overall, you know, they have expectations that they want to continue this trend and they want to continue making Bluffton better," Richards said.

Junior Braylon Goings echoed that confidence.

"I think we're looking pretty good right now, just working on aggressiveness and then just making sure we're mentally strong and stuff like that," Goings said. "I think when times get tough and in the regular season and in the fourth quarter and it's a hard game, I think we can all trust each other and rely on each other."

Junior Tayte Giesige returns for his second year under center and looks to build on his success as a second-team All-Conference star while taking the next step in his growth as a quarterback in 2025.

Giesige reflected on last season and what's ahead.

"You know, last year I had to get used to the game, the speed of the game, you know, first year starter, I feel like first season, first game of the season. I got used to the speed. I figured out what my part in the team was being as a little bit of a role player. You know, doing a little bit of that, making a play here and there and now I'm stepping up this year being a leader and being one of the key parts of the offense this year."

The Pirates open the regular season at home against Benjamin Logan, followed by Pandora-Gilboa and a new opponent, Toledo Bowsher.

"We start off for the home opener. I think that's the most exciting part of this, we get to play football again against someone that's not on our team," Goings said.

Giesige added, "We graduated a lot of seniors seeing this kind of new team getting on the field really, really have confidence in ourselves and being able to work."

In the last two seasons, Bluffton has been a runner-up in the Northwest Conference to Columbus Grove. While the Week 10 rematch against the Bulldogs is still months away, the Pirates remain focused on playing their best football in the weeks leading up to the regular season finale.

"Well, it's going to start with playing our best football each day and getting better from one day to the next," Richards said. "We can't take time to be focusing on Week 10 when we've got a whole bunch of obstacles the nine weeks prior to it. If we take care of business every single week and we get better every single week, I like where we'll be at in Week 10."

Giesige said, "We have 9 games before that, so we're going to take one step at time. Week 1 — Ben Logan. Then we go from Week Two, Week Three, Week 4, all the way up to Week 10, and then we'll focus on them. You know, obviously, they're always in the back of our mind. It stings a little bit, but you got to put that stuff behind you and focus on the present."

As the Pirates embark on the 2025 season, Coach Richards stresses the importance of improving at every opportunity and staying united as a team.

"We just want to have small successes. We don't want to look too far, you know, just to get a little bit better every single day and then when the regular season comes, we're prepared. You know, August is a grind. But you know, if our guys can respond to that and stick together and pull for each other, that shows that collective unity towards the common good," Richards said.

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