MERRILLVILLE — Brad Seiss is a big part of Warsaw Community High School’s football past.
Born and raised in the Lake City, Seiss attended Eisenhower Elementary and Edgewood Middle School then shined for the Warsaw Tigers at the old Fisher Field.
In 2001, Brad Seiss rushed for 1,612 and finished his prep career with 3,652 ground yards.
At one point, older brother Greg (Class of 2000) was the starting quarterback and Brad the starting running back.
Brad Seiss played his last game for Warsaw in 2001 and graduated in 2002. Busy with college and then coaching and teaching, he has not been back to town on a game night.
That will change Friday, Nov. 22 when 10th-year Merrillville head coach Seiss brings his 11-1 Pirates to the new Fisher Field for an IHSAA Class 5A semistate game against the 9-3 Bart Curtis-coached Tigers. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
“It’s cool to go back,” says Seiss. “I’ve heard nothing but good things about how the environment is. But I’m not worried about that. I’m concerned with beating those guys and move on.”
Friday’s winner will punch their ticket to the 5A state championship game Saturday, Nov. 30 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
This will be the fifth time the Pirates have been in a semiststate game on Seiss’ watch.
His teams have won two Duneland Athletic Conference titles (2020 and 2021), seven sectionals (2015, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024) and five regionals (2019, 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024).
While Seiss can’t help but draw attention, he doesn’t want the focus to be on him.
“It’s about the team,” says Seiss. “It’s not about me.
“Our kids are awesome. They work hard. We’ve been knocking on the door for a while. Now we’re looking to break through.”
Merrillville, then coached by Ken Haupt, won a 3A state title in 1976.
Brad and Lauren Seiss (a 2002 Warsaw graduate) married in the summer of 2008. Lauren is principal at Westchester Middle School in Chesterton, where the couple lives with their four children — seventh-grader Robert, fifth-grader Luke, first-grader Matthew and pre-schooler Sophie.
Brad’s parents (Stan and Linda Seiss) and in-laws (Terry and Virginia Witzky) as well as sister (Julie Seiss-Tripp) and her family all reside in Warsaw. Stan Seiss taught at Warsaw for 42 years and Virginia Witzky at Edgewood for a long time.
Seiss was a linebacker at Ball State University, earning four letters and serving as Cardinals co-captain as a fifth-year senior in 2006. Coming off major knee surgery, he earned the Mark Hays Inspiration Award that same season.
He got a Physical Education/Health undergraduate degree from BSU in 2007 and an Education Administration masters degree from the Muncie school in 2021. He is an Advanced Fitness and Health teacher.
Seiss began his coaching career at Ida Baker High School (Cape Coral, Fla.), where he guided linebacker and special teams from 2007-11.
He served as head coach at Muncie Central 2012-14 and went 13-17. Leading into the 2015 season, Seiss became head coach at Merrillville. The Pirates went 81-32 with Zac Wells leading the program 2006-14. During that nine-year span, there were three regional and five sectional crowns.
Says Seiss, “The expectation is for our football program to be good.”
Merrillville went 7-5 in 2015, endured a couple of down campaigns (5-6 in 2016 and 1-9 in 2017) then Seiss and the Pirates got rolling again. His mark at Merrillville to date is 83-36.
Continuity has been a strength.
“We’ve had a lot of consistency in our coaching staff,” says Seiss. “It’s been a lot of the same guys over the years.”
Defensive coordinator Josh Sabinas, defensive backs coach Anthony Curry and quarterbacks Connor Buxton have all been on the staff for 10 years. Seiss has been there long enough that some of his former Merrillville players are now coaching with him.
“The system is important, but with the world we’re living in it’s the relationships you have with your players,” says Seiss. “Since our guys were little guys have seen pretty much the same people at youth camps, Pop Warner games or middle school nights.
“(Players) expect to have success because of (the coaches) and that they work hard.”