John Raffel
Sports Scene
Juniors Josh and Justin Wilk have both been a joy for Ashley coach Steven Clements to skipper during the football season.
Josh is Ashley’s quarterback.
“They both started at corner for us last year as sophomores,” Clements said. “Josh was all-conference corner as a sophomore. With Tyler Skaryd, between the three of them, they carry quite a bit of weight for us this season.”
When it comes to Josh Wilk, Clements is especially impressed “with his knowledge of the game. He’s had quite a bit of in-game experience already. He’s a great overall leader of the team, which is a good thing to have at quarterback.”
The Wilks are fraternal twins but have plenty in common and have been playing together since T-ball days, Josh noted.
Justin “catches the ball very well,” Clements said. “He’s a hard worker. They both didn’t miss many days this summer lifting weights. They’re both definitely hard workers.”
Justin said he and his brother have played football together on the same team for nine years.
“We’ve played here since seventh grade,” he said. “We played at Alma before. We both played tight end and double tight and some linebacker and safety.”
Ashley was 8-2 last fall but started out this season at 2-6.
The brothers combined for six touchdown passes in the first seven games, the longest one for 69 yards.
As a receiver, Justin takes pride in his catching abilities.
“I used to not be able to catch very well,” he said. “I’ve done off-season stuff, even during baseball season, and I’ve been watching a lot better. I’m pretty good at running routes. My brother puts it on the money every single time.”
At cornerback, “my brother’s the better tackler,” Justin said. “This year he’s playing some safety. He was our main coverage guy. He covered the best receiver who was out there. He’s definitely the better tackler.”
The Wilk brothers also play basketball and baseball.
“I think I’m a little bit better football player myself,” Justin said. “My brother is good at everything. We played football and basketball really good together. He’s more of the scorer in basketball. I get more of the assists. We both played post. In baseball, he can hit the ball too.”
Josh said he and his brother are similar in many ways. “We play different positions in sports, that’s about it,” he said. “I think my brother is more athletic than I am. But I definitely know the game better from a mental aspect. I do believe I’m stronger. He’s the better athlete physically, I’m better mentally, which really balances out.”
It’s Josh’s third year of starting at quarterback in five years at Ashley.
“As a team, it’s definitely not as good as we should be,” Josh said. “My brother is playing up to his potential, maybe more. I don’t think I’m playing as good as I should be. I’m playing better than I thought I would coming back from injuries.”
Wilk has focused on being a pocket quarterback.
“I used to focus on scrambling,” he said. “Now everyone figures I’m slower because of my knee. Because of 7-on-7s, I think I’ve gotten stronger on pocket passing.”
With his knee problems, “I’m not as fast as I used to be, and I’m not as strong,” Josh said. “I’m about 90 percent back. I can definitely tell it’s not 100 percent when I play.”
Justin “is definitely my favorite receiver,” Josh said. “I always know where he’s going to be. Sometimes, I couldn’t see him but threw to his spot because I knew he was going to be there. And he was.”
Either baseball or basketball is probably Josh’s best sport. He’s catcher and third baseman in baseball.